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Comment by rPlayer6554 | Hacker News Reader

Simple: Facebook will be stopped when people decide to stop using it or reduce their time on the platform. All the information about their privacy abuses are quite public and people still choose to use the product. I am well aware and I use that information to use it in an informed way (limited usage only on desktop, Firefox container, and more). Yes yes, inside the HN bubble it does seem to be popular. But in the normal world it doesn't seem like enough people care to me. Facebook will change once their is a mass movement to pull at their purse strings.

In a free society, people are allowed to surrender some freedom and privacy if they choose. It seems like what Facebook offers is worth the cost to the average person.

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Imagine in 1980, saying: Philip Morris will be stopped when people decide to stop smoking. All the information about the cancer their products cause is quite public and people still chose to use the product.

While the US didn't outlaw cigarettes, it did take a number of steps to reduce the usage because of the externalities they cause. I don't see any reason why we shouldn't treat Facebook the same way. Add taxes that go towards funding programs to warn of the dangers of anti-vax and other extremist content, keep kids under 13 off of their products, etc.

>In a free society, people are allowed to surrender some freedom and privacy if they choose. It seems like what Facebook offers is worth the cost to the average person.

That is quite the platitude when being applied to an industry that is built on manipulating people and eroding "free will" at every turn.

>But in the normal world it doesn't seem like enough people care to me.

1. "normal" people lack a comprehensive understanding of just how much their privacy is being invaded and how manipulated they are. I'd guess that some of us on HN have the foresight to see exactly where this evil path leads. I am moderately technical and all this surveillance and manipulation tech (and its counters) are sometimes confusing to me.

2. Even where "normal" people are vaguely aware that their privacy is being invaded, they are being trained into a state of learned helplessness.

> the information about their privacy abuses are quite public and people still choose to use the product

I don't. I'm still tracked. Also negatively affected by its effects. People are free to smoke cigarettes, but we will pass measures to limit its damage, particularly to innocent bystanders.

And yet second-hand smoking is only 100% preventable if you isolate yourself from any known smokers. That's why people who care will use a modern tracker blocker and/or firefox containers.

Ad-ops is way ahead of you. Facebook and other corporate surveillers will track you on the backend, like whenever you make a purchase or some other transaction on an unassociated site. Your client-side protections won't save you.

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