> I would rephrase as companies whose express intent is to manipulate people's habits for their own gain. Entertainment is fine as long as it's done in relative good-faith (not gambling or manipulative microtransactions).
Wondering - is Netflix a good company? On one hand, they're a straightforward entertainment company, but on the other hand they optimize content and suggestions on maximizing viewing hours. Their goal is to change habits to watch more and more Netflix.
How about Apple? They sell hardware and software that people like and they try to respect user privacy. But they design their software to aggressively lock users into their own platform and prevent them from trying competitors.
> It can be about empowering people to manage and utilize their own information. It can be about empowering people to create new information.
This is almost exactly Google's mission statement, but most people here would put Google in the gray area.
My point is, almost no company's goal is to make peoples' lives worse. But all companies are fundamentally trying to manipulate people to buy more of their product. The question is if most customers feel good about the company after the transaction, if they feel like they were manipulated "too much".