[alex-]

I think most people, at some level, know this and accept it. I think the shock comes when you think how long this information is kept for, and what that means. i.e. each year they can advertise age appropriate birthday presents, a few years from now they might get adverts for children party suppliers. As they grow up college saving funds, colleges, trips to Disney land, first cars can all be targeted to you at just the right time.

[rectang]

The shock is that it's exploitable by political actors who people are opposed to. That's what's getting attention these days.

[jerf]

I just hope people, including a lot of people reading this, remember this for longer than two or three news cycles. Just because Not-Trump gets into power someday doesn't mean that he or she won't be followed by Not-Not-Trump. In fact, I guarantee the eventual rise to power of Not-Not-Trump, because the only thing that would stop it is if Not-Trump successfully institutes totalitarianism, hardly a win. Our vigilance on this matter can't depend on how much we collectively do or do not like the people currently in power. That was a big mistake Silicon Valley made over the past decade and the bill is coming due in a big way.

[IIAOPSW]

>I just hope people, including a lot of people reading this, remember this for longer than two or three news cycles.

Name one thing that people remember for more than 2 news cycles.

[wilsonnb]

Pretty sure we've remembered 9/11 and Pearl harbor for more than two news cycles.

[IIAOPSW]

So two events in ~80 years. 1 event every 40 years.

Here's a better game to prove my point: what happened 5 news cycles ago? Do you remember? What were the headlines in January/February this year?

[wilsonnb]

I only listed those two events because they were so obvious that I was surprised you hadn't considered them. There are, of course, far more events that people remember.

As far what was happening in January/February:

Pretty sure the government shut down at some point, I think that was around then.

I also remember a lot of news about the stock market breaking records and some post analysis on the tax bill which I think had already passed by then. I could have that timeline wrong on that though.

I think the Alabama Senate election was around then. That might have been earlier though, but I think there were still headlines about it in January.

That's all I remember off the top of my head. I follow political news more closely than other news lately.

[thrillgore]

People won't realize how bad it is because nothing has tried to contrast the ethics and outcomes of our inter-connected society. It took Black Mirror to make us cynical about the onward march of any non-defense era technology.