User Autonomy

Anthropic implemented strict technical safeguards preventing third-party applications from using Claude subscriptions, blocking OpenCode (56k GitHub stars), xAI employees via Cursor, and anyone using subscription OAuth outside Claude Code. Critics called it 'very customer hostile.'

Anthropic reversed privacy stance, shifting from not using consumer conversations for training to opt-out model. Extended data retention to 5 years (from 30 days - 6,000% increase). Pop-up presented 'Accept' button prominently with opt-out toggle set to 'On' by default in smaller print. Mandatory deadline (Sept 28, later extended to Oct 8) forced immediate decisions.

In December 2024, India's Central Consumer Protection Authority fined Zepto ₹7 lakh for deploying dark patterns. The CCPA found Zepto's checkout-stage pricing caused consumers to pay more than MRP through hidden packaging charges. Zepto also added paid Zepto Pass membership to carts by default without explicit consent (basket sneaking) and used 'confirm shaming' by displaying 'No, I don't want to save' when users declined. CEO Aadit Palicha acknowledged the mistake publicly.

In 2024, Slack faced significant backlash after users discovered the company's policy of using customer messages and interactions to train its AI/ML models. Critics argued Slack had not adequately informed users about this data usage. The policy required workspace administrators to opt out by contacting Slack directly, rather than providing a simple user-facing toggle, drawing comparisons to other companies' controversial AI training practices.

The FSF's Defective by Design campaign continued its longstanding fight against Digital Restrictions Management (DRM) through annual International Day Against DRM events from 2020-2023, targeting streaming services (2020), Disney+ (2021), digital sharing restrictions (2022), and DRM in public libraries via OverDrive and Follett Destiny (2023). The FSF also successfully pushed for new DMCA anticircumvention exemptions in 2021, helping secure legal protections for users who need to bypass DRM for ethical and legitimate purposes. The campaign frames DRM as a threat to innovation, privacy, and user freedom.

During the June 2023 API pricing protests, when approximately 8,500 subreddits went private or restricted, some communities labeled themselves NSFW in continued protest. Reddit administrators responded by removing entire moderation teams from protesting subreddits, citing violations of the Moderator Code of Conduct. CEO Steve Huffman dismissed the protest, saying 'It's a small group that's very upset' and telling employees internally that the protest 'will pass.'

On April 18, 2023, Reddit announced it would charge for API access at rates that would cost major third-party app Apollo $20 million annually, forcing it to shut down on June 30, 2023. Despite 8,500+ subreddits going private in protest (June 12-14) and accessibility concerns from r/Blind moderators, CEO Steve Huffman refused to negotiate or revise pricing. The rapid 30-day implementation timeline was criticized compared to industry standards. Third-party apps were widely used by moderators for organization, spam blocking, harassment detection, and by disabled users for accessibility. The change prioritized Reddit's IPO preparation over community welfare and platform accessibility.

In November 2022, Google agreed to pay $391.5 million to settle with 40 US state attorneys general over allegations that the company tracked users' locations even after they believed they had turned off location tracking. The investigation found Google used dark patterns and confusing account settings to continue collecting location data. This was the largest multi-state attorney general privacy settlement in US history at the time.

In October 2022, PayPal updated its acceptable use policy to include a $2,500 fine for users who spread 'misinformation' as determined at PayPal's sole discretion. The policy caused immediate backlash from users and former PayPal president David Marcus, who called it antithetical to his beliefs. PayPal's stock dropped over 5%. The company retracted the policy within days, claiming the language was inserted 'in error'.

Inrupt has deployed the Solid Protocol at national scale, giving individuals control over their personal data. The government of Flanders (Belgium) deployed Solid pods for 6 million citizens. Other partnerships include NHS (UK healthcare data pilot in Greater Manchester), BBC (media), NatWest Bank (financial services), and governments of Sweden, Argentina, Basque Country (Spain), Singapore, Japan, and Helsinki.

In 2021, Frances Haugen copied tens of thousands of internal Facebook documents and provided them to the SEC, Congress, and journalists. Known as the 'Facebook Papers,' these documents revealed Facebook knew Instagram was harmful to teen mental health (13.5% of teen girls said it worsened suicidal thoughts), that the platform's algorithms amplified divisive content, and that safety measures were weakened after the 2020 election. She appeared on 60 Minutes on October 3, 2021, and testified before Congress on October 5, 2021. Facebook's market cap dropped approximately $6 billion following the revelations.

On April 26, 2021, Apple launched App Tracking Transparency (ATT) in iOS 14.5, requiring all apps to explicitly ask users for permission before tracking them across other apps and websites. Up to 96% of US users opted out. Facebook estimated the change cost it ~$10 billion in 2022 revenue and launched a public campaign against Apple, claiming ATT would hurt small businesses. The feature fundamentally reshaped the digital advertising industry by giving users control over cross-app tracking.

In 2020, users discovered that Brave browser was automatically inserting referral codes into URLs for cryptocurrency exchanges like Binance, Coinbase, and Trezor, and into search results for terms like 'bitcoin' and 'ethereum.' Eich acknowledged the practice was a mistake and said it would be made opt-in.

Multiple academic studies found YouTube's recommendation algorithm directed users toward increasingly extreme content. A systematic review found 14 of 23 studies implicated YouTube's recommender system in facilitating problematic content pathways. Research from UC Davis and PNAS showed the algorithm was more likely to recommend extremist and conspiracy content to right-leaning users. Over 70% of content watched on YouTube is recommended by its proprietary, opaque algorithm. While some studies produced contradictory findings, the lack of algorithmic transparency prevented definitive conclusions.

Jack Dorsey announced in December 2019 that Twitter would fund an independent team (Bluesky) to develop an open and decentralized standard for social media. Twitter provided $13 million in initial funding. The project aimed to give users more control over their data and reduce centralized platform power. Bluesky developed the AT Protocol and launched as an independent social network.

On November 25, 2019, Berners-Lee launched the Contract for the Web - a global action plan with 76 clauses and 9 core principles for how governments, companies, and citizens should protect the open web. Over 160 organizations signed including Microsoft, Google, EFF, DuckDuckGo, and Reddit, as well as governments of Germany, France, and Ghana. It has been compared to a Universal Declaration of Human Rights for the digital age.

In 2018, Berners-Lee took a sabbatical from MIT to co-found Inrupt and commercialize the Solid Protocol - a technical architecture giving individuals control over their data through decentralized 'Pods'. The project directly addresses surveillance capitalism by providing an alternative where users, not platforms, own their data. Partners now include NHS, BBC, NatWest, and governments of Flanders, Sweden, and others.

Cambridge Analytica harvested data from 87 million Facebook users without consent through a third-party app, using it for political targeting in 2016 election. When Facebook learned of the breach in 2015, Zuckerberg took Cambridge Analytica's word they deleted the data without verification and failed to notify the FTC or affected users. In April 2018 Congressional testimony, Zuckerberg admitted personal responsibility for the failures. Facebook received a record $5 billion FTC fine, $100 million SEC fine for misleading investors, and a $725 million class action settlement.

Berners-Lee has been a consistent critic of Big Tech's business models. In 2018, he suggested Facebook and Google 'may have to be broken up' due to their market dominance. In 2025, he criticized the attention economy: 'The web is being hijacked from an intention economy to an attention economy. The user has been reduced to a consumable product for the advertiser.' He has also stated: 'When you make an addictive algorithm you know what you're doing.'

In a November 2017 talk at Stanford and subsequent media appearances, former Facebook VP of user growth Chamath Palihapitiya warned that social media is 'eroding the core foundations of how people behave' and expressed 'tremendous guilt' about the tools he helped build. He stated that 'short-term, dopamine-driven feedback loops we've created are destroying how society works' and that Facebook 'optimized for short-term profitability at the sake of our democracy.' He also revealed he keeps his own children away from social media with 'no screen time whatsoever.' Facebook disputed the comments, noting he hadn't worked there in six years.