Advertisers are organized, site owners are organized, and users are not. You need coordination if you want to see the balance changed.

> users need to act for themselves and optimize their own privacy.

> You need coordination if you want to see the balance changed.

Which is, actually, what the BBC author of TFA is doing, by writing an article as a user, to inform other users so they too can act to protect their privacy.

Seems like industry insiders passing responsibility for their bad practices on to consumers really means they want consumers to stay divided.

> Which is, actually, what the BBC author of TFA is doing, by writing an article as a user, to inform other users so they too can act to protect their privacy.

No. The author only singles out TikTok. Looks like a paid piece.

A real journalist would have made some research.

  > Seems like industry insiders passing responsibility for their bad practices on to consumers really means they want consumers to stay divided.

I think this is why they also encourage the old trope of "It's not just <X>".

It's a truth, but used in a way that makes people feel powerless. Like the war is already lost. It makes people apathetic, because it makes people overwhelmed. It causes the evangelists to quiet themselves as they become exhausted. It normalizes the behavior. It just becomes another one of the many things we're powerless to fight against, so why even try.

I'm not accusing the OP of doing this, but I do want to point out that it is a strategy being used. Not misinformation, not disinformation, but malinformation. Truths used in a specific way, often lacking context. It is the same way people dog whistle, hiding their true intent in normalized speech (it's not a dog whistle if everyone can hear it, that's just a whistle).

what does coordination mean, exactly? is the expectation that a small group of users will band together and somehow lobby more effectively than FAANGs?

Coordination means a movement or organization with some kind of actual leadership and alignment. It could be an advocacy group, union, political organization. There has to be something, likely several somethings, for people to throw their lot in with. Otherwise people with grievances will just simmer and complain impotently.

It can start small, but group membership will eventually have to be large if you want to outgun FAANG. We do have numbers on our side though, they're just scattered.

I'm organized enough not to use Tiktok. Anything else is probably going to be ineffective. Not sure if this is effective either though.

  > users need to act for themselves and optimize their own privacy.

In some sense I agree, but I also think you've oversimplified things.

Even when you're highly technically skilled it can be extremely difficult to impossible to regain the level of privacy the average person had just 50 years ago (probably even just 20). This is a bar too high. One should not need years or decades of expertise to take back what is a broad/universal desire.

It comes down to consent. The users aren't technologically sophisticated enough to know how their data is being weaponized against them. Let's be honest here, even on places like HN we often see claims about "ads don't affect me" and "I don't care if they want to sell me a better product". As if 1) you aren't affected, 2) it doesn't matter if your friends/family/peers are affected, and 3) that ads are just there to sell you products and exclusively ones that make your life better. How the information is being leveraged is too abstract for most people and it takes time to process it.

The advertisers literally take advantage of this fact.

But where I do agree is that we need to make our voices heard. The barrier is too high for most to achieve. "Install a pihole" may be acceptable on HN[0] but not for the broader public and certainly is far from being a strong defense alone[1].

Where I do agree is that we as developers need to make these tools easier to use and help lead those conversations and help educate people.

But if you are saying the solution is "git gud, protect yourself" then I think you are on the wrong side and even harming yourself. Unfortunately internet privacy is like vaccinations, we require herd immunity. Without those around you protecting their privacy, your privacy is at risk. It is not a personal decision, it is a social one.

[0] And is the average HN user actually going to implement encrypted DNS and know how to pick better DNS servers? Or are we just going to argue about the trustworthyness of 1.1.1.1 vs 9.9.9.9? Are we even going to talk about things like 1.1.1.2 or base.dns.mullvad.net? These are still the basics!

[1] How many people know you need to change your browser settings? That your browser is likely picking a DNS server for you.