Sure, you can own that computer, but then you have to get online which requires another pile of knowledge to even hope at reducing now much you're tracked. This is not a reasonable solution.

> People have to vote with their wallets and pressure vendors.

I disagree. Expected someone with very little knowledge of the topic to make an informed choice here is highly unlikely to work. You could say the same about clothing created by child labour, but most people aren't going to spend a couple hours researching if the shirt they like is okay to buy, nor should they be expected to.

I believe the solution to this problem has to ultimately come from regulation.