@BeAware how about putting it this way: we here ARE broadcasting content that companies are free to use, and so many of us don’t know we’re doing that.
Do companies use it? Well I imagine so, and it might be largely undetectable. As Fediverse grows it seems like a goldmine for training AIs, collecting marketing stats, etc, all without encumbrances of TOS agreements.
But sure, you’re asking what has actually happened, and what’s actually happened is that all of these users are making content available to companies. That part’s true.
And my personal focus is that it’s being done without the consent or knowledge of so many users here.