My direct ISP is also a vertically integrated global media conglomerate which lobbies for abusive copyright practices, and maintains a large catalog of entertainment IP, which it walls-off from other providers, for the purpose of limiting competition.
My VPN provider may collect data. But they're not fucking evil monopolists.
And the other not-too-delicate point:
MOST of the harm that comes from data collection is not Gillette learning that you have sensitive skin and might benefit from a 7-blade razor.
MOST of the harm comes from LARGE corporate entities aggregating huge datasets from large quantities of people, such that they can draw statistical inferences. There can be a small subset of weirdos - who adblock and vpn. Doesn't matter, because all their neighbors share their data openly. The weirdos who protect themselves are still statistically outed - and even if they aren't the idiot neighbors are exposed to fake news, shitty campaign ads, and they vote, and that affects policy and law which applies to all of us, and that's why we should ALL be using VPN, but that's certainly not going to happen, and if it did, the VPN companies would just sell our data to aggregators anyway.
My direct ISP is also a vertically integrated global media conglomerate which lobbies for abusive copyright practices, and maintains a large catalog of entertainment IP, which it walls-off from other providers, for the purpose of limiting competition.
My VPN provider may collect data. But they're not fucking evil monopolists.
And the other not-too-delicate point: MOST of the harm that comes from data collection is not Gillette learning that you have sensitive skin and might benefit from a 7-blade razor.
MOST of the harm comes from LARGE corporate entities aggregating huge datasets from large quantities of people, such that they can draw statistical inferences. There can be a small subset of weirdos - who adblock and vpn. Doesn't matter, because all their neighbors share their data openly. The weirdos who protect themselves are still statistically outed - and even if they aren't the idiot neighbors are exposed to fake news, shitty campaign ads, and they vote, and that affects policy and law which applies to all of us, and that's why we should ALL be using VPN, but that's certainly not going to happen, and if it did, the VPN companies would just sell our data to aggregators anyway.