[coldpie]

> Showing ads to users is a minor aspect of FB's business model. The data collection and shady markets around it are far more lucrative.

Do you have a source for this claim? It's possibly true, but I suspect in reality it's actually the opposite.

[imiric]

No, it's mere speculation on my part. I doubt such proof would exist anyway, as the entire data broker market is intentionally obscured from the public. But it would be foolish not to think that the adtech giants are not major players of its $300bn worth.

A couple lines of thinking lead me to believe this:

- Why would they collect data from people who are not their users, i.e. shadow profiles? Is it really so that when people sign-up they have a better UX, or is it so they can still sell this lower quality data to whoever might find it useful?

- Showing ads to users is only profitable if the user is part of an ad campaign. Meanwhile, user data can be sold perpetually many times, even if they're not directly advertised to on FB. Why _wouldn't_ FB want to be part of this highly unregulated and lucrative market?

Believing anything these companies say publicly is too naive, given their track record of deception. So I don't mind all this being dismissed as FUD. :)