Free Information?

Free information 200

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Copyright © 2010, Common Ground Research Networks, All Rights Reserved

Abstract

This book is written to respond to the often heard but erroneous statement: “You can find everything online now!” Internet users assume that information is free. They do not question if free (in the sense of gratis) information fetters the freedom (in the sense of liber) of information. Using Google as a case study and the political economy of communication as an approach, this book aims to examine Google as a corporation in a capitalist system. The book illustrates how Google is both a product and a force in a specific political economic system. The ultimate aim of the book is to empower readers to realise that Internet users have the power to free information.