The story is a useful reminder in our era, when there is entirely justified widespread disquiet about the effects of the digital world on education, sociality, subjectivity and more.
There is a curious and seldom-told backstory and parallel story to the high-profile Cambridge Analytica scandal, one that makes the notorious firm seem like the tip of the democracy-sinking iceberg.
The systematic prioritisation of advertising, consumerism and commercial interests comes at the direct expense of meaningful forms of political and economic democracy.
