The internet is still very young and it's too early to make the call as to whether or not it is a "failed utopia." I have a problem with the size of companies like Google and how people so readily give their personal information to Facebook for free. I think as the internet matures, society will become more aware of these issues and perhaps we'll get a critical mass of people demanding their privacy be protected and respected online by all companies. But at the moment, people are more than willing to trade their personal information for free services. As a new generation of kids who have lived their entire lives online grows up, I think they'll be more aware of these issues than anyone.
Yes, but I guess it also depends on the inconsistent definition of a "free" internet. Is it still free as long long as you're not required to give this information? For example, many news sites use facebooks commenting system exclusively. If you are required to give your full name, phone number, and other information to Facebook in order to contribute to discussion on this particular platform, are you being oppressed?
"If a business gives you something for free, then you aren't the customer, you're the product" or something like that. I just don't think enough people have realized this yet. I would much rather Facebook require everyone pay $5 to make an account with the promise to remove ads, protect your information, etc., than continue it's current model. I'll bet Facebook will offer something like that at some point, but not enough people right now are demanding it.
Fair point. But it can still be pretty irrating, and this can inadvertently affect the outcome of discussions. For example, if we used the facebook commenting system, we'd probably have less privacy-focused individuals here.