this post was submitted on 29 Apr 2026
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Why do people like you attack the victim? The company is the monster for burying this stuff in pages-long ToSs in the intentional effort to make these sorts of disclaimers hard to find and understand. Is it because the individual is an easier target to pick on because there's a name and face to this poor woman versus a faceless, evil corporation in the shadows of bits and bytes with no clear antagonist?
Yes, she obviously messed up but the greater blame is always on the data predator, no exceptions—because if they acted ethically (even if it was legal, it was unethical), then this shock wouldn't have happened in the first place.
There is no reason that physically prevents them from putting it in giant, bold-faced font at the top: YOUR DATA WILL BE COLLECTED AND MAY BE USED AGAINST YOU. I've seen some ToSs with formatting in them, so it's totally possible. They should all be required to do this by law. Same with Niantic collecting all the camera pics from Pokémon Go players to eventually train their own AI, and not even returning any cut of the profits. Was it with the millions of players' "consent?" Sure, in legalese, but come on... Your wording suggests that the company is completely in the right, which, pardon my language, comes off as abhorrent when these people are just trying to find help, stress relief, etc. and don't have time to read through dozens of pages when the companies deceptively paint everything else as attractively as possible.
Don't forget the dystopian American legals system that allows all of that in the first place.
When the system’s built to be used most successfully by those who have the most money for it….
Users are abused by an app
Users know the app is abusive
Users keep using the app
Yes... I do believe there is a bit of victim blaming needed here.
If this was the case, there would have been no shock, though. Have you thought at all, "Huh, yeah, Niantic is clever but also messed up to do this," with Pokémon Go being an AI-training data collector? Why focus only on the hurt, dumb users and ignore the higher body in power?
You know what? What about, "It didn't have to abuse in the first place?" Otherwise you're sounding awfully comfy with capitalism...
I'm not comfortable with capitalism, but last I checked all the users of xwitter, Facebook, reddit, cigarettes, roblox, TikTok... This app... Are all comfortable with it. So really they should put their money better places than a repeat abuser. Or I don't know maybe vote more for those who will hold the apps accountable instead of those who keep empowering the Epstein class.
Huh? That's all why we're here across the Lemmyverse, no? We are already smarter than the average person over privacy concerns, sure, but that doesn't make them "dumb." I think it's really unfair to look down on the average citizen versus highly specialized, predatory algos and deceptive services. Or do you think you're scam-proof and everyone who is less has only themselves to blame? I once thought I was, yet have had some near-wakeup calls.
This is like a a child being mauled by a rabid dog in the park full of rabid dogs. They were warned about the dogs and have lived their whole life watching others go into the park and being mauled by them. But the park says "no rabid dogs" and having rabid dogs is illegal, so it'll probably be fine.
Who the fuck thought giving sensitive data to a company would result in anything other than that data being sold for profit as the earliest convenience? Genuinely, you would have to be fucking stupid to think that.
Yes that means most people in the world are making great cases for their own stupidity.
Idk, I'm not in the US but if a therapist was found to break confidentiality or to have possession of information unethically then there'd be a media and political storm on it. Particularly since covid, more therapy and healthcare is conducted online. For some people it may even be the only accessible option.
You are not stupid where I live to expect health organizations to abide by the laws around confidentiality 😅 You would expect health organizations to have the highest secured systems and if they were exposed it would be in a cyber attack from an outside party and the information available for that kind of attack would be limited, de-identified, - it would be an absolute top level scandal, mass class action suit, criminal charges if whole identifiable transcripts of sessions like this were being stored and released in a way that breached the law.
People seeking out therapy are already vulnerable, not stupid. They may be desperate and unfortunately, there are some shitty apps and stuff that DON'T fall under regulations. It's important to make sure you're talking to a real person and the organization is a registered provider ( however that works in various countries) but a person is not stupid for being intentionally preyed on in their vulnerablity and desperation by greedy, unethical people.