ABSTRACT
This chapter will expand the key argument that associates consumer labour with the generation of surplus and, through that, regimes of exploitation. It provides an overview of how arguments has been articulated within the field of Internet research, drawing heavily on the work of Christian Fuchs whose framing of consumer activity as exploited work is particularly influential. It will then explore the political critique connecting exploitation to regimes of alienation. Each of these arguments will be set against alternative perspectives that challenge this framing of consumer labour drawn from Marxist critiques and cultural studies of user activity. The point of this chapter is therefore twofold. First it is to document an important debate within the field of Internet research, generating a comprehensive account of Marxist economic logic in the process. Its second goal is to indicate what feminist perspectives can add to the debate.
