If it's free, you really are the product

Posted May 30, 2025 6:33 UTC (Fri) by marcH (subscriber, #57642)
Parent article: Cory Doctorow on how we lost the internet

> It is misguided to say "if you're not paying for the product, you're the product", because it makes it seem like we are complicit in sustaining surveillance capitalism—and we are not. The thinking goes that if we were only willing to start paying for things, "we could restore capitalism to its functional non-surveillance state and companies would treat us better because we'd be customers and not products".

No, that's absolutely not "how the thinking goes".

From:

it's free (A) => you are the product (B)

... it does NOT follow that

not A => not B

That's a surprisingly basic mistake.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contraposition

If it's free, you really are the product

Posted May 30, 2025 8:32 UTC (Fri) by ballombe (subscriber, #9523) [Link] (1 responses)

I agree with your logic but I think you are in violent agreement with Cory there.

If it's free, you really are the product

Posted May 30, 2025 14:10 UTC (Fri) by marcH (subscriber, #57642) [Link]

Likely agreeing on the "real" issues, yes. My comment was only about the expression. Very minor disagreement compared to the actual issues discussed but I think it's a very good expression, especially about (a)social media and information/propaganda in general. Most of the world population now believes they're getting "information" when we are being literally drugged with dopamine, brainwashed and distracted from real issues, all at the same time. One of the most potent weapons ever invented. Propaganda has existed since forever but this last stage is on another level. Apparently this even affects fertility and population size! https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/29/opinion/dating-marriag...

I don't think there is any better catchphrase to describe this problem. You do need something very short because you're going against dopamine shots and Tiktok attention times, that is: seconds-long attention times.

Of course paying for information (or anything) does not automagically make it neutral and great, far from it, funding is only the first requirement. But the expression does not say otherwise.