Should social media platforms be banned from collecting their users' data?

Question

MysticDevice · Accepted Answer

All platforms should be banned from collecting users' data. And selling it should be considered a crime.

Which is why I've been using a VPN.

I'm sure its not 100% effective but its better than nothing

FunkyMonkee · Accepted Answer

Absolutely!! That's like you inviting someone into your house and then they start taking pictures of EVERYTHING you own, recording EVERYTHING you say and probably stealing shit from you!!

razelove · Answer

How would that even work? I'd get it if there was something limiting how it was sold to third party vendors, like malicious intent or something. I don't see how any modern social media would even function without collecting user data though.

If you'll recall, what came before facebook were gems like MySpace, friendster, and second life. Something like second life seems closest to being free of targeted ads and collecting user data. So meta vr, but with no data stored, and everyone using an alias.

Personally I don't want to go back to MySpace, that was a nightmare, I remember coding my entire page, it was a whopping 6MB, which was enormous for cable internet at the time, and looked about what you'd expect from a teenager trying to cram 500 things into a 20 thing box.

SweetDripp · Answer

That is their entire profit model. If you want social media without paying a subscription fee, you need to give up your data so they can use it to generate income. If you ban data collection, they simply shut down the platform because it will no longer generate income for them.

Maybe_Maybe_not · Answer

They will be unable to generate money then. So they will adapt, nuking their userbase with ads, putting a paywall, or using a freemium system. It's uncertain they'll survive this, no company likes to see a drop of income.

Nikki1989 · Answer

They should be, but it will never happen. It is not difficult to protect yourself online to a certain extent, but it is even easier to avoid social media altogether.

OlderAndWiser · Answer

As much as I dislike the collective power of social media, I also dislike government regulation of our lives. If you don't like how social media operates. . . don't use it.

Phoenix98 · Answer

That would never happen because then they’d make no money. Gotta remember if something is free like a app or website it’s because your product being sold.

Unit1 · Answer

Good luck with that. The easiest thing to go about it is not being on there in the first place. That's how we can fight back.

DrPepper12 · Answer

How are they supposed to make money then if not by monetizing users?

noohair · Answer

Thsy don't work for free and they don't charge you, so how do they keep the servers going without something to sell?  You have a choice, you don't have to use their site.

TheSpaceGnome · Answer

Yes, in the US it violates the 4th ammendment.

Ladsin2 · Answer

How else should they monetize us? They have to make money somehow.

Jennz6 · Answer

Yes, absolutely. How do they do that?

Anonymous · Answer

Only 20 years too late for that.

Anonymous · Answer

They should be banned completely.

Should social media platforms be banned from collecting their users' data?

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