Hyper-Exploitation in the Hacker Movement

This book explores the capitalist exploitation of digital media where creativity is a fundamental element in the production of digital goods. Yılmaz Alışkan focuses in particular on open-source hardware communities in which hackers give up a considerable amount of free time and labour to produce open technology they are not compensated for.

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In this book, Yılmaz Alışkan discusses the capitalist exploitation of digital media and examines how free time and creativity can be exploited in open source communities, with corporations often benefiting from community-generated knowledge. Focusing on open-source hardware communities, in which hackers give up a considerable amount of free time and creativity to create open technology, Alışkan investigates how free time becomes a “hyper-exploited” commodity from which capital is increasingly accumulated. Whereas paid workers are still often exploited, Alışkan posits that open-source workers are further “hyper-exploited” by technology companies as they receive no compensation for their labour. Ultimately, this book reveals how the time and activity of volunteers in open-source communities are ripe for capitalist exploitation that blurs the line between leisure and work time, often disguised by assertions that such labour is “fun” or in line with volunteers’ personal interests or values. Scholars of communication, digital media, sociology, and labour studies will find this book of particular interest.