Why the internet is not as ‘free’ as you think

It’s the basic business model of the internet – you hand over your personal data in exchange for digital services. But is it a good deal?It was on a visit to San Francisco in 1889 that the British writer Rudyard Kipling first discovered the concept of the “free lunch”. Lost and in need of a drink, Kipling wandered around the city until he discovered a saloon, where “men with hats on the backs of their heads were wolfing food from a counter”. The food at the ba