[zelphirkalt]

> Yes, except that Meta is being legally compelled to provide the services regardless of whether the user consents.

I mean, obviously they are compelled to do that and this is completely fine.

As users people should not be blackmailed into accepting psychological manipulation in their lives, just to be allowed to use a service. If Facebook's model for profit is so bad, that they cannot profit without manipulation, then perhaps their whole business is a shady one and they should start asking for membership fees. I could not care less, whether they need their pesky ads or the data from people viewing and interacting with them. Without consent they don't belong on the users' screens, end of story. If they cannot do business ethically, I wish they would not do business at all.

> I would be fine about laws requiring facebook to be up front and clear about how they are using this data, but mandating free rider status seems a step too far.

It has nothing to do with "free riding". They offer a service and that service should be worth its weight to the users. If it isn't, then apparently it is not a good enough service. To get back the money through the back door, by utilizing manipulation of users and spreading hate-speech for engagement metrics is not OK.