Yeah, it’s a business model that works really well. And honestly, most people don’t really care what happens to their data. Total win-win situation!

Since the average user gets more value than that from the internet, this “free” service will probably continue as is.

Undisciplined

The internet presents itself as free. We search, scroll, message, stream, shop, post, upload, prompt, and click without reaching for our credit cards. It seems a simple and sweet deal: we get access to huge digital services, and in return, they get eyeballs, activity, and scale. But this arrangement was never really free

To examine just how unfree it is, the Web3 Foundation has today published 

, a new White Paper that examines the commercial value generated by personal data across the Big Tech and AI economy. Its central finding is unambiguous: personal data is not a marginal by-product of the internet. It, and the financial value that can be derived from your data, is the financial heart that drives the digital age.

We found that Big Tech and AI companies earn upto $162,492 in inflation-linked commercial value from each internet user worldwide over a digital lifetime. Across the world’s estimated six billion internet users, that upper lifetime estimate would amount to approximately $745 trillion in commercial value.

econ

> *The internet presents itself as free. We search, scroll, message, stream, shop, post, upload, prompt, and click without reaching for our credit cards. It seems a simple and sweet deal: we get access to huge digital services, and in return, they get eyeballs, activity, and scale. But this arrangement was never really free*
>
> To examine just how unfree it is, the Web3 Foundation has today published [The Hidden Price of Free: What Your Data Is Really Worth](https://web3.foundation/hidden-price-of-free/web3-foundation-hidden-price-of-free-white-paper.pdf), a new White Paper that examines the commercial value generated by personal data across the Big Tech and AI economy. Its central finding is unambiguous: personal data is not a marginal by-product of the internet. It, and the financial value that can be derived from your data, is the financial heart that drives the digital age.
>
> We found that Big Tech and AI companies earn upto $162,492 in inflation-linked commercial value from each internet user worldwide over a digital lifetime. Across the world’s estimated six billion internet users, that upper lifetime estimate would amount to approximately $745 trillion in commercial value.
>
> \[...]
>
>
> ![](https://m.stacker.news/142573)
>
>
>
> [**...read more at web3foundation**](https://medium.com/web3foundation/the-hidden-price-of-free-why-your-data-is-worth-far-more-than-you-think-066bc8f813ff)