With Facebook's unflinching assertions that it did not track users, even in the face of many robust facts, specialists grew more frustrated and the public more confused. This appears to have been the point. By denying every accusation and pledging its commitment to user well-being, Facebook secured a solid year and a half with which to habituate the world to its "Like" button, institutionalizing that iconic thumb turned toward the sky as an indispensable prosthetic of virtual communication.

Shoshana Zuboff, The Age of Surveillance Cap…, loc. 498