You must have heard about this article right where facebook was doing experiments on manipulating emotions. We have to accept the fact that not everybody in the world has the same level of smarts and common sense. Their are a lot of emotionally unstable, emotional fools out there. That doesn't mean that the intrusion by ad companies is answerable by the individual himself.


Sound good when its just the cat. Not so much when the state decides to infringe on your activities because you are becoming a thorn by the side, say like an activist journalist. They know everything about you and your behavior pattern, places you visit etc. Its not so hard to imagine such data being used to demolish political opponents or even activists.


I don't think its so simplistic. Normal people like you and me gradually become part of this machinery that determines how the world runs. When the people in power no everything and monitor everyone, their are subtle ways that information can be used to their advantage without anybody noticing. Maybe facebook doesn't want your data. But having all of it stored in their servers is a potential mine from where patterns can be derived.
You may call it paranoid but the level of false information that is being fed to reinforce viewpoints is undeniable. This is being made possible by targeted delivery of news and ads. You only ever see the things that their "algorithm" thinks will gain the most clicks form you or the most view time. You surrender yourself as a consumer because you only ever see what they show you. Where is the chance to expand your horizons and make mistakes then.
So, One really shouldn't brush off privacy concerns. They affect all of us and have far reaching consequences.