Free hardware and internet access were traded for personal data and tracking rights
Evidence
Gross also founded FreePC, which, while it lasted, gave people low-end Compaq computers in exchange for detailed personal information and the right to monitor their Internet surfing and buying habits. His NetZero was a “free” Internet service that depended on ads and similar tracking practices, at least until its collapse. — Tim Wu, The Attention Merchants, 877
Categorization
- XREF: connects to: Free digital services are paid for by users’ attention.; Free Wi-Fi kiosks disguised as equity tools siphon data even from non-users. — Shoshana Zuboff, The Age of Surveillance Capitalism, 714; Surveillance capitalists self-authorize the right to modify user behavior for profit — Shoshana Zuboff, The Age of Surveillance Capitalism, 933 (+10 more)
Broader Connections
- Users freely did unpaid labor that increased Facebook’s own value
#corroborates(0.85) — Tim Wu, The Attention Merchants, 1011 - Facebook’s Free Basics captured data from already-connected users rather than bridging the divide
#exemplifies(0.85) — Nick Couldry & Ulises A. Mejias, The Costs of Connection, 316 - Surveillance capitalists self-authorize the right to modify user behavior for profit
#complicates(0.80) — Shoshana Zuboff, The Age of Surveillance Capitalism, 933 - Platforms extract free labor from users in exchange for recognition and perks
#corroborates(0.80) - Google institutionalized surveillance capitalism by simply declaring its right to take experience as data
#exemplifies(0.80) — Shoshana Zuboff, The Age of Surveillance Capitalism, 1078 - Self-tracking autonomy comes at the cost of permanent submission to external data systems
#corroborates(0.80) — Nick Couldry & Ulises A. Mejias, The Costs of Connection, 516 - Surveillance is repackaged in the language of personal freedom to gain acceptance
#complicates(0.75) — Nick Couldry & Ulises A. Mejias, The Costs of Connection, 80 - Google’s founders saw human experience as free raw material for surveillance capitalism.
#expands(0.70) — Shoshana Zuboff, The Age of Surveillance Capitalism, 315 - Benign convenience helped surveillance capitalism escape political debate
#complicates(0.70) — Naomi Klein, Doppelganger, 276