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That's because Facebook sells ad space. There are companies that don't do this, and are happy to sell your information. Like, say, the California DMV...

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Is the California DMV a private company?

Obviously not, but the point was snide humor.

Do you really not believe there are private companies which sell personal data?

Sure, CC companies have been doing it since the 1950s. But only aggregate data has any value. Advertisers care a lot more about finding a large group of potential buyers than individuals.

Something like the more data you have the less detail you know, because noise expands faster than signal.

If you're implying that advertisers only want aggregate data to build a marketing strategy that requires leveraging the individualized data from ad platform holders like facebook, that feels like some serious cognizant dissonance about the meaning of privacy.

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