Like many fundamental rights, privacy is one of those things that becomes noticed only when it’s gone. That’s unfortunate, because after it’s gone it’s much harder to regain. We have to stop the slide. Fundamentally, the argument for privacy is a moral one. It is something we ought to have--not because it is profitable or efficient, but because it is moral. Mass surveillance should be relegated to the dustbin of history, along with so many other practices that humans once considered normal but are now universally recognized as abhorrent. Privacy is a human right.
—Bruce Schneier
If you're reading this, then I'll assume you've either read the article I wrote for the The Disconnect or experienced the hypermedia essay I produced for the Open Data Institute on online tracking and you would like to know what you can do about it. Honestly, surveillance capitalism is a complex set of systems. Though it was pioneered by companies like Google and Facebook, this new economic order is finding it's way into various aspects of our digital lives. Like all systemic issues, this is a collective problem. Collective problems require collective solutions and solving systemic challenges like these is always a long term project. That said, I've put together some references and practical suggestions for getting started... hope it helps.