Your enemies want you to think eternal outrage is unhealthy. That's how they eventually win; They can play this game longer than you're willing to play it.

I am not willing to live in a state of eternal outrage. It's an incredibly unpleasant place to be and what's the point? My outrage changes nothing, and I don't need to be outraged to do whatever is in my power to change things.

Not giving these bastards money is a good start.

This article finally pushed me over to thinking that we need to start pushing for some laws to limit this sort of thing. It's just pervasive, and "not giving [them] money" is completely ineffective. And for some companies, like Google or Facebook, it's pretty hard for a consumer to actually give them money in the first place, nor is practical [0] to not use their products.

[0] practical, not possible.

The main reason why I'm eliminating these kinds of things from my life is self-protection rather than trying to get companies to change their behavior. As you say, getting them to change outside of effective legislation is impossible.

> for some companies, like Google or Facebook, it's pretty hard for a consumer to actually give them money in the first place, nor is practical [0] to not use their products.

Well, the only Facebook product I use is WhatsApp, and that's to talk with one person in Europe who only uses WhatsApp. The only Google product I use is YouTube, and I only use that with an account that is not used for any other purpose, and on a tablet that is not used for any other purpose.

So my experience is that avoiding these companies is entirely practical. All you give up is a small amount of convenience.

You also must consider that your family and community need protection as well, and they rely on those who have expertise in these highly complex topics.

A rather late place to draw the line, given the sheer exploitive nature the industry has shown itself capable of stooping to these last couple decades.

The solution is to buy devices that you actually own.

Sent from my Librem 5.

There are additional, similar, issues that come with using smartphone apps as well. Just using Librem doesn't resolve the overall issue for me.

These issues have to be solved one by one. Giving up because there are more fights ahead is unwise. BTW Librem 5 is my daily driver.

I've been fighting this stuff for years. At some point, the best way to fight is just to stop giving them money.

The cost/benefit ratio of having a smartphone is no longer favorable, so I won't have one. That seems like a reasonable stance. I don't know what's unwise about it -- whether or not I own a smartphone will not affect the world in any way.

> whether or not I own a smartphone will not affect the world in any way

But it will: in addition to not giving money to Qualcomm and co, I am giving money to the alternatives and constantly reminding all banks and organizations that alternative systems exist apart from the duopoly (whenever they offer me their apps).

I figure that to the extent anybody is paying attention, I am reminding everyone that there is at least some business being lost because of their abusive practices.

I don't need to go to all the hassle of trying to validate what phones and apps are safe or not to make the point.