I've actually setup a system where I download this zip file once every 3 months.

My main point is that the barrier to entry for making a new social network/reader etc is not one of innovation. Search for instance is hard to compete with because the bar has been set so high. Facebook is impossible to compete with because of its walls. I don't feel this page brings those walls down.

A service that did this regularly (like once a week) and then made the data available via API for syncing with other services would be useful.

Facebook specifically prohibits this. If I'm not mistaken only the account holder can download the data, you need to enter your password and bypass captcha. Also the download link is sent to your email.

And you can get more data by making a request under data protection laws.

My understanding was that this is only applicable if you are domiciled in the applicable area. Is this not correct? Has anybody tried this?

I tried it (I'm within the EU), but only got lots of boilerplate and got pointed towards their data download which is very limited in scope.

As far as I understand, the first few people to try it got more complete responses, but the data was still incomplete.

So, while technically it is your right, good luck getting anything more than you can already download.

I'd be great if the US implemented some sensible privacy laws.

I'm in the UK, and Europe has a nice set of data protection laws. Enforcing those laws is sub-optimal.

The prevailing argument against regulation is usually cost. "It would be expensive to implement this! MILLIONS OF DOLLARS!" and to the uninformed outsider this has a ring of truth to it. However any cost figure would be largely overstated as facebook and other big providers are already complying with European data laws. As such the fundamental architecture and implementation have already been done for a non-trivial segment of the internet population. All it would really take is rolling out that infrastructure to the US. Not to say it would be a completely painless process, but they already established a lot of knowhow.

It's bound to happen, if not soon, at least once we start electing legislators who have grown up using these services.