The thing that so many people fail to realize is that the data isn't valuable in and of itself. Excluding the type of information that lets you steal identities (and therefore bank accounts), there's not much you can do with huge swaths of data. There's not really a market for sheer information.
What makes Facebook (and other platforms that use your personal data) valuable is that they have both information about you and a place where they can show you ads. These platforms are not, contrary to popular belief, trying to "sell" your information. They're allowing advertisers to use the platform to display ads to you based on that information. The data is a means to an end, which is showing you relevant ads.
If everyone stopped using Facebook tomorrow, the value of all the information Facebook has gathered would be negligible. The real reason Facebook is worth $X Billion is because a significant portion of the population of the world logs in to use same product every day.
In other words, your attention is the thing that is valuable. Your data just lets advertisers be really efficient in how they pay for your attention.
What makes Facebook (and other platforms that use your personal data) valuable is that they have both information about you and a place where they can show you ads. These platforms are not, contrary to popular belief, trying to "sell" your information. They're allowing advertisers to use the platform to display ads to you based on that information. The data is a means to an end, which is showing you relevant ads.
If everyone stopped using Facebook tomorrow, the value of all the information Facebook has gathered would be negligible. The real reason Facebook is worth $X Billion is because a significant portion of the population of the world logs in to use same product every day.
In other words, your attention is the thing that is valuable. Your data just lets advertisers be really efficient in how they pay for your attention.