Matthew Green at Slate, after Google changed a default Chrome feature to automatically log users into the browser if they log into any Google service. This means all browsing history now gets sent to Google, and at rollout there wasn’t even a way to shut it off:
This pattern of behavior by tech companies is so routine that we take it for granted. Let’s call it “pulling a Facebook” in honor of the many times that Facebook has “accidentally” relaxed the privacy settings for user profile data, and then—following a bout of bad press coverage—apologized and quietly reversed course. A key feature of these episodes is that management rarely takes the blame: It’s usually laid at the feet of some anonymous engineer moving fast and breaking things.
We are way, way past time to start holding these companies and their lame, ‘anonymous engineer’ management scapegoat accountable for their awful approach to our privacy.