Farhad Manjoo: We hate data collection, but that doesn’t mean we can stop it

(Jeff Chiu | AP file photo) A woman walks below a Google sign on the campus in Mountain View, Calif., on Sept. 24, 2019.We’re being watched. We know we’re being watched, and we don’t think the watchers have our best interests at heart. They try to mollify us, arguing that we’re being watched for our own good and that in fact we’re the ones in charge of the scale and scope of all the watching, but deep down most of us are confused and suspicious about this sudden state of affairs. Why are they watching us so closely? What will they do with all they learn about us? Is there any hope of stopping them? And does it even matter that we do not want to be watched — or is it of no consequence because they know we’re trapped, and so do we?

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