I agree with the author's assessment that we have a societal problem first and foremost. However, a key component of that societal problem is that most (99%+) do not care about surveillance to the degree that they would change their behavior.

Almost all my friends who use social media are aware the apps spy on them. They all have an anecdote like they were talking about X with their friend and when they scrolled Instagram/Tiktok an ad for X showed up, and they all say (unprompted) that it's creepy. When I suggest to them that maybe they should stop using Instagram etc, or at the very least use it on the website, to prevent this, the reaction invariably an excuse to keep using it. You can't tell these people to use Nextcloud or whatever over iCloud. They would never do it. The only thing that'd get them to switch is to offer more convenience/greater network events.

Benjamin Franklin's famous quote goes "Those who would give up essential liberty, to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.". With tech, the same maxim applies, if you replace safety with convenience.