Google doesn't want you to limit its ability to follow you around the internet | Dan Gillmor

Behind our screens, tech companies are racing to extract a price for what we read and watch on the web: our personal information

Every now and then, when I try to read an online article, I see nothing but a blank space where the article should appear. Because I run software to block third-party tracking cookies, the publication blocks my access to the article. When I give such sites – and there are a number of them – full permissions on my browser, the articles become visible.

My inability to read one article isn't just annoying – it's part of a global effort to end internet users' "free lunch" of content. Behind our screens, there is a technological race to extract a price for what we read and watch on the web: our personal information and browsing habits. And as Silicon Valley and the advertising industry continue to merge, the incentives to collect and use that information will only grow.