Tumbling down the rabbit hole?

Wait, do you still think Matrix parodies are cool?

Yes.

Look around you, Mitchell.

This is the free internet.

We do everything here.

We connect with friends on Facebook, search for information on Google,

and all of it's free.

Yeah, free.

Wait, actually, how do these sites make money?

I'll tell you. But you may not like where the rabbit hole goes.

So... do I choose a pill, or?

Oh, no, these are my allergy medications.

This one's for pollen, and this one's for actos.

Where are we?

What is this place?

This is the internet of the real.

The truth is, these services aren't free at all.

You pay for them with your very identity.

When you use Facebook, they log everything you do.

The pages you like, the people you interact with,

even the words in your status updates.

Then they take that information, analyze it,

and assemble a detailed profile of WHO YOU ARE.

They know your habits, your preferences.

They can even determine your risk tolerance or sexual orientation.

And then they sell that information to advertisers.

One risk-taking homosexual please.

It's a pleasure doing business with you.

Wait, how did they know?

I'm not even out at work yet.

Hey, I didn't know you were gay.

So adventurous.

That's not hypothetical.

This actually happened to a woman in Tampa.

Umm, that IS problematic.

But come on, we all know they're showing us ads.

Yeah, but we don't know how deep Facebook's tentacles really go.

They actually record which ads we see,

then partner with firms that monitor what we do in the real world.

Jacob liked the page Bacon is Bae last week.

We showed him an ad for your double bacon heart attack burger.

He just bought one in Duluth.

Clearly susceptible to the campaign.

Let's pump him full of ads.

I guess I got room for one more.

This has got to be one of the most invasive advertising systems ever devised.

Facebook connection determines who's the most vulnerable to an ad campaign

then up their dosage till they buy even more.

Well, I'll simply delete my Facebook account.

I'm gonna miss those ex-girlfriend pictures,

but it's worth it not to be tracked, right?

Sure, you can quit Facebook.

But good luck escaping Google.

That's me.

But I'm not even on the... Google!

I'm on a private website.

Exactly.

Google doesn't just track you when you search.

Their tracking software is also installed on over 10 million websites.

Even medical sites.

So that health info you think you're looking up in private,

Google's got a front row seat.

Mitchell has erectile dysfunction.

I know a drug company that would get rock-hard for that information.

And that's not all.

Every time you write a gmail, watch a YouTube video, or use Google Maps,

Google collects data about you.

God, no.

We don't even know the full extent of what Facebook and Google store, or what they do with it.

All we know is that they're collecting our data on an unprecedented scale

and making billions off of it.

That's their real business model.

They're monetizing us.

When we use these sites, we're not the customer, we are the product.

Why? HOW?

Hello Mitchell. I've been waiting for you.

Now you're parodying the second Matrix movie?

What? It's the best one.

Mitchell, this is Ethan Zuckerman.

He's the director of the MIT Center for Civic Media.

Mitchell, the fact that the sites are free is the problem.

When the Web was created,

we the users decided we would rather have free stuff than pay money for the services we used.

As a result, the websites have had to sell ads to make money.

They target ads to us based on our preferences and our behavior online.

And that means we're under constant surveillance,

in exchange for the services that we get for free.

One in six people on earth now has a Facebook account,

and they make up 20% of all time spent online.

That's 1.6 billion people whose every move is being tracked by an online Big Brother that they chose to live on.

No.

And here's the kicker.

You want to know how much revenue your personal data is worth to Facebook?

For every user they surveil, they make just 12 dollars.

No.

Your interests. Your personality. Your relationships. Your privacy.

Those things are priceless.

But you gave them all away just to avoid paying 12 dollars.

No. That... that can't be. That that that's not possible.

Well, there is a bright side. You want to hear about it?

No, no. Shut up. Shut up, let me out!

He's got to pop.

Let me out! I want to get out! Oh...

You know, this happens to all my friends.

Hey guys, Adam here.

If you like that, be sure to watch new episodes of ADAM RUINS EVERYTHING

every Tuesday at 10 on tru TV.