How are you all so addicted to Facebook that you think it has a monopoly on something? It's not the only way to host content online, it's not the only social media platform, it's not the only (nor even the largest) data-mining platform... Where does it have a monopoly?

And you ARE getting a cut - you're getting use of the platform gratis. You're getting massive amounts of free content hosting and server time. If it's not worth trading your information for that, THEN DON'T PUT YOUR INFORMATION ON THE PLATFORM. There's no coercion nor economic necessity, just a lack of self control (and refusal to read license terms) on users' part.

I'm no Facebook apologist—they fucked up, but most of those elected officials grilling Zuckerburg sell their email list to data mining companies without their donors' consent*. I also wonder if any one of the 256 members of Congress that voted to allow you ISP to sell your personal data spoke yesterday?**

*http://money.cnn.com/2016/07/07/news/pre…

**https://www.theverge.com/2017/3/29/15100…

I agree with the previous two posts, and I would like to add that there was a much larger data breach recently that was from a company to whom no one agreed to give their data, Equifax. Maybe I missed it, but I don't recall a media circus with that, or a CEO being asked had questions in front of Congress, and considering how damaging that breach may end up being, it seems even more required than Facebook's.

"Let a thousand flowers bloom", said Mao, at the outset of the Cultural Revolution. The quote implied that he was loosening controls over freedom of expression, inviting dissidents to speak. He then proceeded to cut the heads off the flowers he didn't like.

Anytime you allow all the information to flow through a single channel, whoever controls that channel controls the information flowing through it. When everyone had their own Blog or website or whatever, things were less centralized and harder to control. Now, everyone uses the same platforms- Twitter, FB, Google, Amazon. The control of these platforms by their owners is very highly centralized. Zuck owns everything you post on FB. Zuck can sell that data to whoever he wants. So can Bezos. And Sergei and Larry.

In fact, thats the only way to make any money. They're not charging you anything to have a Gmail acct or a FB page. Did you think Zuck's billions just appeared out of the thin blue sky?

Of course he sold your shit. You gave it to him, dumbass.

@4 Never gave Facebook any info. Since you've not been paying attention, they've been collecting data on NON users. They have shadow accounts for NON users. He keeps saying users have control over their data. What about NON users who have been avoiding FB like the plague it is?