How it's less free? It's easier than ever to publish something for free with knowledge that can be acquired for free and reach/collaborate with orders of magnitude more people.
I remember digging through HomeSite 4.0 help file to learn what HTML tags do.
I'm with you on this one. I don't think it's any more cordoned off than before (in general—not commenting on certain countries' practices here). Any use of those larger services is completely optional—though I do feel a tad let down when the only offering for some content is a FB page or video.
There is more high quality content online than there ever was—if you know how to look for it. There's also a lot more crap.
I gather the perspective on the internet/web might be very different for people who were introduced post-Google, post-Facebook, etc. For many people those are the introduction, unfortunately. I'm glad Google is featuring some bit of history there, but those large services seem to like to promote that you stay within their walls. In that way I can see the disappointment.
To quote Billy Bragg— "You've got to take the crunchy with the smooth, I suppose"
I remember digging through HomeSite 4.0 help file to learn what HTML tags do.