The easy availability of information on the Internet may lead to the commoditization of content. However, if content is free or low cost, it may be difficult for those who produce it (like journalists) to earn a living. Economists and other scholars examine this tension and suggest various solutions.
Select an Issue
TAP Academics
View all academics with expertise in this Issue
TAP Blog
Columbia law professor Tim Wu, who was a senior advisor at the Federal Trade Commission in 2012 when the agency settled with Facebook for failing to protect user privacy, discusses Facebookâs privacy promises then and now.
April 2, 2018
View all blog posts about this Issue
Upcoming Events
Law and Economics of Data
November 14, 2018, Boulder, CO
View all upcoming events about this Issue
Fact Sheets
There are currently no fact sheets about this Issue. Please see fact sheets on other Issues on TAP's media page.
Quote
"Facebook is always in the position of serving two masters. If its actual purpose was just trying to connect friends and family, and it didn't have a secondary motive of trying to also prove to another set of people that it could gather as much data as possible and make it possible to manipulate or influence or persuade people, then it wouldn't be a problem." — Tim Wu, Professor of Law, Columbia University
View all academics' quotes on this Issue
Featured Article
This paper presents a formal analysis of advertising when the Internet allows targeting of advertisements.
April 30, 2010
View all articles on this Issue