If you’re not paying for the product, you are the product

Timeline

1. 1973-03-30
   antecedent: Television Delivers People (1973)

   An earlier related formulation appears in Richard Serra and Carlota Fay Schoolman’s 1973 video Television Delivers People: “You are the product of t.v.” — related idea, not the later “if you’re not paying…” wording.

2. 2010-08-26
   claimed coinage: Andrew Lewis (blue_beetle) for the payment-clause form

   Commonly credited to Andrew Lewis’s 2010 MetaFilter comment for the payment-clause form; that credit covers the modern wording, not the 1973 antecedent.

3. 2010
   earliest verified occurrence: MetaFilter comment by Andrew Lewis (2010)

   Earliest verified occurrence located for the modern “if you are not paying…” formulation: Andrew Lewis (blue_beetle) on MetaFilter in 2010.

4. 2017-07-16
   popularized by: Social-media / surveillance-capitalism critique (2010s)

   Popularized by 2010s social-media criticism that recycled the MetaFilter line as a critique of free consumer platforms.

Sources

• Television Delivers People

  Richard Serra; Carlota Fay Schoolman · Video artwork (broadcast/exhibited 1973) · 1973-03-30 · primary

  Source link · Accessed 2026-08-29

  You are the product of t.v. You are delivered to the advertiser who is the customer.

• MetaFilter comment on Digg / user-as-product

  Andrew Lewis (blue_beetle) · MetaFilter · 2010-08-26 · primary

  Source link · Accessed 2026-08-29

  If you are not paying for it, you’re not the customer; you’re the product being sold.

• You’re Not the Customer; You’re the Product

  Garson O’Toole · Quote Investigator · 2017-07-16 · secondary

  Source link · Accessed 2026-08-29

  In conclusion, this saying evolved over time. Richard Serra and Carlota Fay Schoolman crafted an interesting precursor in 1973.