My guess is that they’ve sold customers on the idea that all this data make a remarkable difference. Now they risk being exposed, which could cause lawsuites and make it easier for competitors to enter the market.
Larry Page was one of the keys to selling that story years ago.
Find me a web app with a truly novel utility, UX, and real problem those things solve. You can’t cause they’re all the solve and designed by factory thinkers. It’s all about agency management.
It’s emotional flock building just like with the churches. Believe, buy-in, die before you realize it was an empire building scheme for a rando with no other life skills, and a rich family to support him.
But here’s the twist; are the rubes the users or the advertisers? Double twist: it’s both!
People will need stuff and find it with or without Facebook.