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Information and Communication Technologies and Society

A Contribution to the Critique of the Political Economy of the Internet

ICT&S Centre for Advanced Studies and Research in Information and Communication Technologies and Society, University of Salzburg, Sigmund Haffner Gasse 18, 5020 Salzburg, Austria, christian.fuchs{at}sbg.ac.at

This article argues for the need of Critical Internet Theory. It outlines how such a theory operates by the example of the role of gifts and commodities in the Internet economy. It is argued that after the crisis of the `New Economy', the emergence of what is termed `Web 2.0' signifies the increasing importance of the Internet gift commodity strategy. This strategy commodifies the users who produce content and communications online on free access platforms so that advertisement rates are driven up, and functions as a legitimizing ideology. In this context, the notion of the Internet prosumer commodity is introduced.

Key Words: capital accumulation • Critical Internet Theory • critique of the political economy of the Internet • social software • Web 2.0

European Journal of Communication, Vol. 24, No. 1, 69-87 (2009)
DOI: 10.1177/0267323108098947


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