[ericdykstra]

> Who is the government? It's people. People like you and me. If people decide to make assumptions based on data they collected and the assumptions aren't correct it's their own fault for assuming something in the first place (because...you know...it's an assumption...it can be wrong).

What if the assumptions they make raise the premium on your health insurance because someone sells your data? People (or, more likely, algorithms) making wrong assumptions, even if it is their own fault, can affect you negatively.

[blitzprog]

Wouldn't you agree that the real solution is to fix the a) algorithms and b) assumptions rather than c) hiding the data?

[ericdykstra]

I can't fix someone else's algorithms and assumptions, but I can hide my own data. Even if I agree with your premise, if someone else is in control of the "real solution," then it's not a real solution for me, is it?

There's also the chance that those algorithms and assumptions are "correct" from a business standpoint (it would cost more to "fix" them than the monetary benefit of fixing them) even if they're not correct for consumers, meaning nobody that's actually in control of them has any motivation to fix them.