Walled culture

how big content uses technology and the law to lock down culture and keep creators poor

by Glyn Moody, Glyn Moody

Paperback, 308 pages

English language

Published Nov. 12, 2022

ISBN:: 978-94-6459-495-9
OCLC Number:: 1346130439

(4 reviews)

Walled Culture is the first book providing a compact, non-technical history of digital copyright and its problems over the last 30 years, and the social, economic and technological implications.

This book recounts the origins and unfolding of that historic clash of irreconcilable ideas by diving into how:

Big Content have lobbied lawmakers in the US, the EU, and elsewhere to pass harsh laws in an attempt to forbid people from accessing and sharing content;
As a result, the immense power of the Internet is being throttled, and the knowledge and culture that could flow freely to everyone is being walled up for a select few; and,
We are losing so much just to prop up outdated and inefficient business models, and what could be done to unleash the Internet’s full potential and fairly remunerate creators by breaking down those walls.

2 editions

David Hughes reviewed Walled culture by Glyn Moody

Turgid but essential reading

5 stars

Despite the undergraduate essay level of writing, this book is essential reading for anyone interested in the future of the Internet. Some may find the the chapter on academic publishing a real eye-opener and the discussion of the EU copyright directive terrifying. Though heavy going at times, the book is extensively referenced (with all links using the Internet Archive's Wayback Machine). It's a pity that the book's publication preceded the rise of generative AI, as the liberal use of ChatGPT and suchlike does raise some interesting questions about copyright.

Anders reviewed Walled culture by Glyn Moody

A well written critique of publishing.

4 stars

Bought this book in epub format directly from the author when I came across a post on Mastodon and have been reading it whenever I have been sitting around waiting.

The book provides a good overview of the problems the digital world faces from copyright, old business models and reluctance to change. The publishing industry with it's lobbying is heavily criticized. It also provides viable alternatives for content creators to thrive in the digital world.

Michael Gisiger 📖 reviewed Walled culture by Glyn Moody

A great overview of the flawed copyright system in our age of the Internet

5 stars

This easy to read book tells the history of copyright over the last few decades: How massive lobbying by the content industries resulted in many laws passed that extend copyright in multiple ways that are not suited for our digital age, and strengthen the penalties for infringing upon it. It covers all major areas like book digitizing projects, Open Access, streaming services, upload filters, and many more. If you are looking for a comprehensive overview of the developments in this field since the advent of the Internet, this is the right book for you. The only fly in the ointment for me is, that it hardly touches the abolition of copyrights at all, although the last chapter gives a clear example of how a creative industry with no copyrights—the fashion sector—can flourish.

Paul reviewed Walled culture by Glyn Moody

Worth reading

3 stars

Walled Culture can be a bit heavy going at times, but Moody does do an excellent job of highlighting the many areas in which copyright as it's currently implemented does more harm than good.

It's certainly true that this is something for which much reform is badly needed. I remain unconvinced, however, that Moody's preference to completely abolish copyright would prove to be quite the panacea he suggests.