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Comment by netfl0 | Hacker News Reader

You get what you pay for. Another case of if it’s free, you’re probably the product.

Having this kind of cynicism is probably a good guide to how to regard free products, but I don't think it's a good reaction here: it gives the idea that predictable behaviour (a company selling your browsing history) is acceptable behaviour. We should still be outraged, even if the behaviour is predictable.

Acceptable is relative. If you think it should be illegal, that is a different discussion. I do not see how my prediction of behavior in anyway normalizes the behavior or makes any value judgement of it for that matter.

If you think expressing outrage is the most productive thing to do here, we may disagree.

> I do not see how my prediction of behavior in anyway normalizes the behavior or makes any value judgement of it for that matter.

I think that there's a difference between prediction and reaction. I agree that, before the fact, saying "it's not free; you're the product" may be productive. However, after the fact, saying "what did you expect? It was free and you're the product" only implicitly normalises the behaviour, compared to "that was predictable, but nonetheless is not OK."

(You didn't quite say either of these, but I read your response as being more of the "what did you expect?" form. Of course, I might have been wrong!)

If you pay for it, it does not mean you are not the product.

Agree, this seems compatible with my statement.

Your statement doesn't tell much. If it's free, you are probobaly the product, but you may not.

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