The Internet Is Not Free

Ah, here comes the enclosers of the Internet. Had to come eventually, can't have the people enjoying something for nothing, there's no such thing as a free lunch, ad nauseam ad infinitum.

Those who wish to wrap their fingers around common intellectual property and prise it away from the many for the benefit of the few should consider the following - content on the Internet is not free, and has never been free. To enjoy it at home, you must first buy a PC. You must then have a domestic telephone line, must subscribe to an internet service provider and must pay your electricity bill. These are all costs borne solely by the Internet's users before they start to surf, and those who derive their livelihoods from providing online content really should think long and hard about unilaterally changing the terms of the business they do with people who spend their own money in order to visit their websites.

The only effect that threatening to charge for online content will have will be to drive readers away from chargeable sites, to the detriment of just about everything from their advertising revenue to their intellectual standing. The Friedmanite economic theory behind charging for Internet content is absolutely sound; but this will be one of the few occasions when a public confronted with Friedmanism's realities will get a chance to just say no.

And if Keith Murdoch was too dumb to think of charging for online content before he started 'Times Online', that's his problem. He's in a market, and such behaviours will always create more aggressive and less loyal consumers. After all, there's always 'Comment is Free'.