[tsimionescu]

They were created by the ascribe of a few powerful individuals (not in some conspiratorial way, I just mean the actions of a few company heads / marketing gurus etc), not by the individual actions of some billions of users. They will have to be dismantled the same way.

[radisb]

No. They were created by the individual actions of some billinos of users who (like me) subcribed to those problems (not regarded as such at the time) due to - i will agree - the actions of a few company heads / marketing gurus. But just as nobody was pointing a gun to my head at the time, nobody is pointing a gun to my head now: "Thank you for your services, I think I 'll be leaving now"

[AlexandrB]

An an individual, I don't remember bundling Chrome into downloads from SourceForge to trick my elderly mother into installing Google's products.

[radisb]

True, but it is not the way the problem was created. It is a part, but nothing compared to the conscious choice of installing chrome or signing up for gmail etc. The massive adoption of google products was not achieved the way you describe. To be clear, i agree with you. What you describe, is true and indicative of the situation. But I just want to point that individual action can solve the problem just as it was the main drive that created it