There's always the future. I stopped using ATProto after the revelations that they hid their VC raise from the community for almost a year (and some other things, straw eventually breaks a camel's back) - and almost all social media, which is a (mild) trend aiui.

Setting aside contemporary political dynamics, there is also the possibility for robust data rights laws that can change the game.

I agree, that's just not where ATProtocol is (currently only available in world/anonymous-read mode). Personally, I find the permission proposal rather lacking (ACL vs the advancements / learning since) and user requested features will require building auth enhancements at the app level, thereby creating a form of centralization.