There is a world of difference between Facebook and Steemit just due to the codebase being open source vs. hidden. In theory, the open source nature of Steem and Steemit means that anyone with skill can duplicate the entire system and make their own version - which is absolutely not the case with Facebook. This therefore means that there is a failsafe built in to allow users to 'rebel' if needed. That said, as with offline reality - to do so requires organisation, agreement, need and desire - which are typically lacking among the users of most social networks, though it certainly could be a possible outcome at some point.
As far as Amazon goes, I was not aware of Steemit.com being hosted on Amazon, but if it weren't Amazon it would be somewhere else and the various alphabet agencies are thoroughly hardwired in to the internet backbones anyway, so while Amazon might make it easier for bad actors to use state systems to manipulate outcomes than other hosts might - there is no real guarantee with any of them.
Ultimately, to enact 'full spectrum dominance' on the steem blockchain would require the code for the nodes to be manipulated and for no-one to realise - which is possible, but given that anyone can examine the source code, it is likely that eventually it would be found out. That, again, is no guarantee of anything. As long as we are using systems made by others we don't know, there will always be possibility for us to be exploited, so the only way forward is to either use no systems, make our own systems or just work with what's available. If we make our own systems, then the problem doesn't go away, it just means that we personally feel safe, but others don't.
As with everything, the more we know, the more active we are and the more our intent is purely aligned to balance, healing and evolution - the more we will shape reality to meet our real needs. It's good to be vigilant but also good to not create problems that don't exist.
thank you for the careful consideration, upvoted.
I am of course not certain, I made a few leaps without evidence because I feel at this point I would be naive if I did not. I actually put the same question to stan just now, we'll see what he says.
I am proud I at least summarized the questions in an entertaining concise way, and as time goes on we will be able to refer back to this point and see what turned out to be good, and what turned out to be bad.
if every search goes through google, and tracking is turned on, then i have doubts about anyone who cares about my privacy. and anyone who doesn't care about my privacy is suspect.
thanks for taking the time to consider, you earn my respect when you address my questions and I hope I will be able to reflect that back when possible.