This is an explanation of how it does actually work.
The brokers I have experience with either propose you to participate in a share-lending program with profit sharing (opt-in) or propose two different kinds of accounts and you can disallow lending but then the conditions are slightly worse (some fees are waived if you let them loan your shares).
The shares are not "stolen without your knowledge". If you're using margin it may be part of the conditions attached to that. Would you say that a broker liquidating part of your positions to satisfy margin requirements is also the broker deciding to steal your shares without your knowledge?
This is an explanation of how it does actually work.
The brokers I have experience with either propose you to participate in a share-lending program with profit sharing (opt-in) or propose two different kinds of accounts and you can disallow lending but then the conditions are slightly worse (some fees are waived if you let them loan your shares).
The shares are not "stolen without your knowledge". If you're using margin it may be part of the conditions attached to that. Would you say that a broker liquidating part of your positions to satisfy margin requirements is also the broker deciding to steal your shares without your knowledge?