I dunno if you realize this but this sentiment is by FAR the most dangerous opinion in regards to advertising one can have. Because you are essentially saying that humans have no personal agency and that every decision we make is influenced by external factors. Which leads to a logical conclusion of a society where eveyone is required by law to take Xanax and is subjected to a carefully planned life down to the minute.
>Targeted advertising has already changed governments, caused hundreds of thousands of bankruptcies, family trouble and breakups, and many sucides.
No it hasn't. Don't make shit up.
We already see the result of this happening in San Francisco - the policies that led to the state of the homelessness population and crime all stemmed from taking away agency from people. "Its not their fault that they are addicted to drugs. Its not their fault that they feel so desperate to turn to life of crime".
Now, with the recent shenanigans of Cambridge Analytica, if you follow this claim, you are essentially saying that people can't be trusted to make rational decisions on their own because they are so influenced by information that they see, so that information must be controlled.
None of this is farfetched. Privacy is simply being used as a political tool for people to gain control, it has no implications in the real world.