It's not their fault they're exploiting a system that allows what they are doing.

They're not good people, but if it weren't this set of people, another would take their place. The world is rife with opportunity for people of low morals.

It is society's fault that we have not explicitly codified what will not be allowed and constructed the right laws and enforcement to ensure that violators are ruinously punished.

Good grief. Many of the people in privileged positions to complain about this stuff got to those positions through Sand Hill road.

Telling some poor person that they have to pay $10 per month to use Google or send Facebook messages isn’t democracy. Don’t want surveillance? Don’t use the products the employ it, but some people, especially those that don’t have means, might be perfectly fine to trade privacy for a “free” service. Destroying the ad industry is elitism and tone deaf — ads are imperfect, but they have enabled people to do things that would have been impossible or unaffordable 20 years ago.

This pitchforks and guillotines talk is ridiculous. Build something better if you don’t like the way things are.