Reactions to Facebook ’s privacy leaks ranged from surprise at the scale of the data breach to disbelief that anyone could be “shocked, shocked” about what transpires inside Silicon Valley’s abattoirs of data. But the loss of privacy is only one symptom of systemic ills plaguing the internet. The problem began with what some call the internet’s original sin—offering free software and content in exchange for the hope of unprecedented growth. Advertising was supposed to pay the way.

The plan worked well for Facebook and Google, which together control 87% of digital advertising, according to Bloomberg. But their success belies a basic truth: Internet advertising is broken. It abuses users, starves publishers of revenue, and creates unprecedented levels of fraud for advertisers. The situation drove Procter & Gamble ’s chief brand officer to declare last year that “the days of giving digital [advertising] a pass are over.”

Internet advertising started simply, but over time organically evolved a mess of middle players and congealed into a surveillance economy. Today, between end users, publishers and advertisers stand a throng of agencies, trading desks, demand side platforms, network exchanges and yield optimizers. Intermediaries track users in an attempt to improve revenue.

It’s an inevitable consequence of such a system that users end up treated as a resource to be exploited. When you visit the celebrity website TMZ, for instance, you face as many as 124 trackers, according to a Crownpeak test. Your data is stored and profiled to retarget promotions that shadow you around the Internet. You become the product. Some claim your data is not “sold,” but access is certainly rented out.

The Facebook-Google ad duopoly also vacuums up gigabytes of personal data: Google collects the places you’ve gone, devices you’ve used, everything you’ve searched or browsed, pictures of your children, emails, contacts and more. Facebook knows where you logged on and has access to webcams and microphones, emails, messages, call logs and more. The scale of the intrusion is what prompted our company to develop the privacy-oriented Brave browser, which will soon offer a consent-based ad model that pays you to surf the internet.