A clever but meaningless "solution" to massive surveillance: the "databox" would offer a way to give personal data to companies via one special company, rather than directly. It would only mean that some of your personal data follows a different pathway to companies and the state.

The databox company would hand over all your data to Big Brother on demand, as every company does (in the US, the PAT RIOT act requires this).

The databox company would hand your data to other companies, too, whenever you do business with a company that says you must agree to do so.

Meanwhile, most of your personal data is generated by transactions that you're involved in: for instance, if you order a book, listen to streaming music, or pay with a credit card. You never have this data, and neither would the databox company.

In other words, the databox is a pseudo-solution that can only distract from the measures that would really end massive surveillance.