In the information age, where content is king, the battle between accessibility, compensation, and data security rages on. With the proliferation of the internet, content creators, from independent journalists to corporations, have had to adapt to new monetization models.
One of the most common strategies has been implementing paywalls, allowing creators to receive compensation for their work. However, a concerning trend has emerged in recent years: The rise of websites and tools enabling users to bypass paywalls. While the allure of free content is undeniable, the proliferation of these sites has real, negative consequences for content creators, the quality of content, and user data protection.
Paywalls, often encountered on websites of newspapers, magazines, and subscription-based streaming services, exist to support the creators and organizations behind the content. These platforms invest in quality journalism, research, and/or entertainment, all requiring substantial resources.
Not only does the emergence of websites and browser extensions that facilitate the circumvention of those paywalls threaten the livelihood of these creators, but it can also put user data at risk. While proponents argue that these tools promote accessibility to information, they inadvertently undermine the ecosystem that supports content creation.
Ultimately, users end up complicit in diverting compensation to nefarious sites run by unknown, often foreign entities who monetize stolen content in other ways, including running ads and selling the data of those who traffic their sites. As these paywall bypass sites traffic stolen content to make a quick buck, they also threaten users who do not understand how any data they provide to these random sites could be misused.
This issue is prevalent across industries.
For news articles, a quick Google search will show various options to get behind the paywalls of media outlets, such as websites like Archive.today. Local news outlets, which, in comparison to prominent national news outlets, have faced decreased revenue and struggle to hire and retain reporters who will do the gritty and time-intensive work of on-the-ground local reporting. Many have turned to paywalls to help fund this critical work. Yet, sites like Archive.today steal paying customers from these outlets and run ads to benefit themselves. The decreased revenue for news outlets has the potential to negatively impact the quality of journalism, with severe ramifications we have yet to understand the extent of.
In the education space, a website recently popped up with the express purpose of helping students get behind paywalls of subscription-based education content. Homeworkify states on its website that “the current operation of Academic Help & Tutoring services is a massive violation of human rights. Restricting access to information and knowledge behind a paywall. We don’t want that.” In addition to the fact that there is a typo in the mission statement of an “education” website, it openly admits its sole purpose is to give access to proprietary/paywalled information. You can’t type a question into the search engine and get the answer. You have to go to a site behind a paywall, get the URL, and then enter your email address to get the stolen solution originally from the paywalled site. And what they do with the contact information provided by students is a mystery.
For example, with just your email address, a scammer can send targeted phishing emails, impersonate you to scam your friends and family, and even hack other accounts and steal more sensitive information regarding your identity or your financials. Therefore, a quick ask from a paywall bypass site could create catastrophic issues down the road that end up costing you far more than paying for the content in the first place.
If you want to catch the Sunday football game this season but don’t want to pay for subscriptions or cable packages, look no further than nflbite.com. This site allows the user to illegally stream every professional football game, as well as a whole host of other games. But one thing you will notice is an exorbitant number of questionable ads that, without the right firewall protection, are a quick click away to a computer virus. Unlike publicly traded media companies beholden to consumers and stockholders, “sketchy sites” do not have the same motivation to protect your data security and privacy, nor are they held accountable when either is violated.
And these are just a few examples from across the web. As paywalled content increases in frequency and in an increasingly digital marketplace, we can anticipate the trend of these websites to only continue, putting both content creators as well as users at risk.
Content creators rely on paywalls to sustain their ability to produce high-quality content on platforms that adhere to the security and ethical standards consumers expect. The circumvention of paywalls jeopardizes the future quality of content. Users need to recognize the consequences of their actions and consider the long-term impact on the content they value and the safety of their data that malicious actors on the internet may compromise or steal. Ultimately, paywall use is not just a matter of economics; it’s a matter of preserving the quality and diversity of the content that enriches our lives.
