[jacquesm]

If you're worried about facebook, have a look at: your google search history, your ISPs mandatory 'data retention', your mobile phone operator and so on.

Facebook is but one of a large number of companies that hold private data and use it to their own advantage.

In fact, even without a facebook account they'll know about as much about you unless you've blocked their domain/ips on all your devices because those like buttons are everywhere.

Why do you feel the need to justify yourself about not having a fb account? Simply blackhole and ignore them, then get on with your life and if people ask you why not 'because I don't trust them' should be more than good enough, no need to go into paranoid fantasies about what they could do.

If facebook wants EU style data protection / privacy laws in the US then they should definitely try to sell your private data to insurance companies. I'm pretty sure that would sway even the most pro-business anti-consumer legislative body.

[zackzackzack]

For you and I, it's enough to say "I don't trust them". For the normal users of Facebook, people like my classmates, friends, and family members, they have no way of knowing what I mean when I say I don't trust Facebook. They cannot imagine what you and I know to be possible, if not highly improbable. The first question they ask after me saying I don't trust them is why? I've had to explain some variant of this many many times lately and so I've written it up as something I can send them.

And yeah, I'm worried about google, my bank, my phone operator(no smartphone though), and my ISPs. Just because all of these other companies do it doesn't mean it's alright for them to do. I hate that there are hundreds of files out there that have data along the lines of "Zack Maril, Male, 21". I'd like to find ways to prevent companies from collecting all of that information about me. (Using DuckDuckGo and cash only would probably be a great start.)