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Free makes any business model other than surveillance capitalism effectively impossible. Direct paid revenue is a necessary but not sufficient condition for an
by api 6y ago
Free makes any business model other than surveillance capitalism effectively impossible. Direct paid revenue is a necessary but not sufficient condition for an honest transparent model of user interaction that respects privacy.
Facebook with a subscription fee could still have been shady, but a world where Facebook charges a subscription fee is a world where an alternative might have a chance to finance itself as the direct revenue potential of a social network would not be $0.
- netcan 6y agoThis is why I think it is trite to go on saying "if you're not paying, you are the product." On paper, sure. You are right. Free makes any business model other than surveillance capitalism less viable (though I definitely would not say impossible). In reality, "surveillance capitalism" is the most profitable regardless. So, even if we pay, we still get surveillance. The trope just lets the finger be pointed at the public, instead of at whoever is doing the surveillance. Even if you could get most people to prefer paid to free (you can't), it wouldn't do anything to mitigate surveillance in reality. Just because paying enables nonsurveillance in theory, doesn't mean that it will actually result in non-surveillance in reality. In fact, it probably won't.