To me, the ad tracking industry is completely out of control, and I’m not going to disable my ad blocker. So I signed up for YouTube Premium.
And you’re paying to keep it that way. You’re not paying for the added value YT Premium supposedly has, but to disable the enshitification they added on purpose for you to pay.
The only added value premium has is being able to switch off the screen and maintain YT playing. Still I’m not paying a 14$ subscription just for that. I pay that value for much more valuable software for my every day use with real added value.
TheHobbyist@lemmy.zip 1 year ago
I hear you but this seems to largely ignore that we are all already paying google, a lot. It is only thanks to their unscrupulous private data harvesting that they have become the mastodon they are. This has been going on for so long and only in the recent past to we get the scale of this effort. Now they want us to pay them too, while nothing is changing on the data privacy side? Frankly, I don’t think they deserve our trust. It’s not like paying makes them get any less of our private data, so they are basically double dipping. That does not sit well with me.
I’m all for paying for a due service, but I also have expectations of data privacy rights. Those are mostly vanishing into thin air with google…
drahardja@lemmy.world 1 year ago
If you feel strongly that Google is a data-gathering evil so great that they deserve not a sliver of your money or attention, then stop using YouTube.
Sorry, but you can’t make a moral argument for your position. What you want is to benefit from Google’s services without paying them. That’s it. That’s the whole argument. It doesn’t really matter if you like them or not, really. You’re arguing that you should get free service.
That is not a morally sustainable argument.
TheHobbyist@lemmy.zip 1 year ago
I’m arguing I’m already paying…
Additionally, google has to right to how the website they serve me is displayed in my browser on my computer. If they send me the video stream despite me not looking at their ads, that’s on them. What happens in my browser on my machine should not be Google’s business.
Honytawk@lemmy.zip 1 year ago
As long as Google illegally tracks my online movement and scrapes my data, I can do whatever the fuck I want to them.
They are the ones in the wrong.
elbarto777@lemmy.world 1 year ago
Het, look at you so high in your horse!
Morals are subjective anyway.
So you can’t say “you can’t make a morsl argument.”
Of course OP can!
Here’s another example: before the era of music streaming, downloading pirated mp3s was the norm. The music industry is notoriously explotative of artists, so, you may build a case about how immoral it is to download a pirated mp3, while I can build a case that I’m morally obligated not to give the music industry money since very little goes to the artist. I’d rather buy their merch or go to their concerts.
Then the music industry sued regular people for thousands of dollars per downloaded song just to make an example of them. Well fuck that. From that moment on, I swore to never buy music from the RIAA again, because what they were doing was immoral.
I can’t escape Google’s ecosystem even if I tried my best. They’re constantly following me around even if I tell them “no, don’t do that, leave me alone.” So, fuck them. I’ll play dirty too. I’m morally obligated to do so.
drahardja@lemmy.world 1 year ago
They may be subjective, but they exist as a concept and can be discussed. Morals describe the value system from which you make decisions and build consensus. Pretending they don’t matter is nihilistic and self-serving.
Let me frame this issue a different way: when Google doesn’t make money from showing you ads, or getting money from your subscriptions, they don’t pay the creators for your views. Are you arguing this is also OK? Will you promise to support each creator directly instead? Or are you only interested in getting entertainment for free?
While the RIAA does continue to exploit artists, it’s now possible to support many artists directly by buying their albums online, buying merchandise, and attending their concerts. Do you do any of that, or are you simply pirating music for your consumption?
mayo@lemmy.world 1 year ago
I probably will do that tbh. Youtube is like reddit to me - I’m addicted and I’d take the opportunity to quit.
Someone breaks into your house and steals something from you. This person is also selling bananas at the supermarket. Am I morally required to pay for those bananas when I shop at that store?
Your argument makes the most sense to me only if it’s limited to basic exchange of goods, but Google doesn’t exist in a vacuum and mega-corporations should be everyone’s your shit list.
DessertStorms@kbin.social 1 year ago
Imagine criticising the morals of the end user (a paying one, at that), but not of the multi billion dollar company holding them hostage (and exploiting their employees, and avoiding tax, and deliberately enshitifying their services out of pure greed, and so on and on and on)...
Is boot really that flavoursome, or are you just a clueless clown doing the bidding for the evil overlords for no good reason at all?
Either way, it's a pretty pathetic look..
a1studmuffin@aussie.zone 1 year ago
I’m surprised they don’t gift YouTube Premium to Google One subscribers. The same way Amazon does with their streaming service and Prime.
TheGreenGolem@lemm.ee 1 year ago
That’s what I want. Give me a Google One tier where I can pay whatever amount and don’t see ads in any Google product.