How Free is the Internet?

"if you think you're free,

try walking into a deli"

At the most basic of levels, no, the internet is decidedly not free, just as it's not free to walk into a deli if you expect to get a sandwich; "The most widespread myth about cyberspace is that it is truly free and ungovernable" (154, An Introduction to New Media and Cybercultures). I don't know about you, but I pay about $60 a month for the internet. It's $7.99 a month for Netflix, and $100 or so a year to rent a URL and server space for my website. Even before that, it's around $100 or so a month to just keep the electricity on to run my devices. There are more miscellaneous charges if I want to get a movie or an e-book from Amazon. There are other less tangible costs even for the free websites, as well. Facebook has access to all of your information which they sell in packages to advertisers. Instagram feels free to sell the pictures you provide.

I know that for a full-time college student with more than a couple of jobs, the monetary cost represents a great expense, and the intangible cost is troubling. I'm also aware that, even in our own country, the minimum monetary threshold necessary to have access to the internet represents an impossible expense to a great many people: 

In itself, the availability of a medium of communication does not guarantee a truly public 'public sphere.' Racial, economic, gender, and regional inequalities in access mean that the public sphere in cyberspace is once more constructed by the (techno-) elite, while the marginal (often racial/ethnic minorities or women) remain at the periphery. ICTs have helped the already empowered to acquire greater power while the disadvantaged remain on the margins. (151, An Introduction to New Media and Cybercultures)

 So, even though we may not think of ourselves this way, we are the techno-elite in our own country and especially the rest of the world. In the article "The Internet Is Still a Man's World in Developing Countries" which Nathan shared as a trend on our Digital Culture and Social Media page, it states that "In the U.S., the gap between the number of men and women who use the internet is about 4 percent." So, even in our own country we can see the marginalization of women on the web. In developing countries, however, the gap is even more apparent with a "global gender gap of 23%" where even the internet access for men doesn't break above 50%. These statistics reflecting the connection between the gender/socioeconomic status and the internet access disparity show how:

Cyber-public space is the augmentation of existing public spaces and an extension into another realm of the communities, sites of political action and agency that exist in the real public sphere. This also means . . . that cyberspace is a fiercely contested zone, where ideological battles are played out between commercial interests and justice movements, neo-cons and radicals, businesses and environmentalists, the state and civil society. Even with radical and subversive movements in cyberspace, control is exerted by commercial interests. Even as the latter push for state governance of the Internet, alternative media escape legislation and hackers disrupt the profiteering narrative of mainstream technocapitalism. (137, An Introduction to New Media and Cybercultures)

 So, while there is a marked disadvantage in cyberculture for those who cannot afford access to all of the goodies that are offered on the internet, "hackers" as Nayar calls them—though the correct term in this sense is pirate—work to free the internet for public use. Pirates do this by cracking the copyright protection codes on software, music, movies, games, and e-books and distributing them freely and on a large scale using Peer-to-Peer transfer networks via torrents on sites such as Kick Ass Torrents. Technocapitalist corporations are fighting back, though:

Issues of copyright have exercised legal thinkers in the digital era. When the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) was enacted in 1998, it was an attempt to ensure copyright protection for software and digital products. The controversies over NAPSTER and music-copying technologies have been cultural debates: who can own copyright, the freeing of knowledge and technology from monopolistic control, and the government's right to monitor usage, among others. (154, An Introduction to New Media and Cybercultures)

Technocapitalists are using new laws to impose severe repercussions for pirates. However, this seems counterproductive in that laws are made by the government which is supposed to represent the interests of the public. Pirates are freeing up media on the internet for public use; yet, the laws made by the government are advancing the interests of the technocapitalists, instead. Indeed, even the premise that preventing piracy protects the profits of the entertainment industry is faulty. In one of many articles expounding upon this point, "Why Most Artists Profit from Piracy" sheds light upon how piracy actually helps promote the music industry.

In conclusion, a free internet—whether in terms of cost or access—is not a thing that is naturally occurring. Lots and lots of people and organizations, however, are in constant battle to create that freedom—including everyone from pirates liberating media products to public libraries which offer free access to the internet. They are in constant confrontation with technocapitalists and the governmental laws they force through which begs the question "whether the task of ensuring security, safety, privacy, and equality (of access) is now the prerogative of private conglomerates and corporations rather than the state" (155, An Introduction to New Media and Cybercultures).