The Future Of Morality, At Every Internet User's Fingertips

For much of the modern, advertising-driven Internet, attention is money. Whether a publisher, search engine, or social platform, the business model is fundamentally the same: The attention of users is aggregated and then sold to advertisers who want to bring a message to that audience.

To that end, supplying attention itself can be an act of complicity in the unethical actions of a platform. The mere act of choosing to look at something online generates real value for a company, materially helping to support its staff, its content, and the social interactions that a platform plays host to. This is why a website like Do Not Link exists: It promises a way to share a link from a website without boosting that site’s standing in search rankings.