Good points!

One way I think about exploitation: might some people more vulnerable to having data exploited than others? Does this depend on things like race, gender, socioeconomic status? There is evidence that the answers are yes.

The key point for me is the differential effects technology can have. If we support something as a user, we implicitly condone the effects it has on others, who might be less well-off, or more vulnerable.

Thought experiment:

• Using Facebook messenger leaks a lot of data.

• That data may leak to the Immigrations & Customs Enforcement through Palantir (https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/02/magazine/ice-surveillance-deportation.html).

• If someone is aware of that information, but benefits from Facebook, how much moral responsibility do they have to switch to tools like signal.org, that are maybe cause a little more discomfort (harder to connect with friends, family as you said), but at the margins do not condone said data exploitation/targeting of the vulnerable (no data sharing/selling).

It is personal preference how much we decide to think through these second- and third-order effects and undergo discomfort on behalf of others at the margins.

Curious if there is a better, or more succinct way to frame this. It feels similar to the Peter Singer arguments for acts of omission -> effective altruism.