Every day, hundreds of millions of people go online to search the web, watch videos, read content, and catch up with friends — all without paying a single cent. But some critics deride this free ecosystem, claiming that not only are unsuspecting consumers “paying” for these services with their data but they are getting a rotten deal. To fix this, they argue, government should enact tougher privacy laws or even give consumers property rights over their personal data. However, as Alan McQuinn writes for InsideSources, data is not like cash, and enacting laws and regulations based on this misconception would both harm America’s digital economy and consumers.
