[ajross]

Can you give defintions for "a benefit" and "value" such that your statement is not self-contradicting? Those look like synonyms to me. And to the law, for that matter: there's nothing that requires a business contract be exchanged with money alone.

[spookthesunset]

Do we really need to be this pedantic? There is no money exchanging hands for this transaction. Apple / YouTube / Netflix puts a rack of stuff in the ISP for no charge. With the right traffic patterns everybody wins:

- End users get a better experience because there are fewer hops between the content and their computer.

- ISP gets to pay less on transit

- The content provider also spends less on transit while providing a better end-user experience

[ajross]

That's the point though. Value isn't "money" -- that's not pedantry, it's a comparatively profound truth. Asserting that this business arrangement constitutes getting something "for free" is missing the point.