Not for nothing are Google, YouTube, Facebook and TikTok so popular. These companies provide convenience and entertainment, seemingly at little cost to consumers. But their services don’t come free.
Every time we search on Google we are surrendering information about ourselves, which Google sells on to advertisers at a profit. And when our children or grandchildren log on to YouTube and TikTok to watch cartoons or dancing videos, they too are paying with their data — an involuntary, uncompensated bargain that seemingly exposes them to “targeted” adverts for toys or teen fashion, and ever more clickbaity, addictive programming.
The vast quarterly revenues declared this week by Google and Facebook tell their own story. Data is real, and it is hugely valuable. Not just financially valuable,
