If a service can be used for free, it is actually paid for using the user's personal data. This is the modus operandi of Google, Meta, YouTube and many other "free" services that can be used now. Last week a report surfaced that Reddit allowed a secretive company to use their user data to train AI models.
Reddit will be paid $60 million (~RM287 million) per year with this agreement to be renewed annually. With user data collected since 2005, it is quite a valuable resource for companies looking to train their AI models in the future.
The issue facing various AI companies at the moment is lawsuits because the data is allegedly trained using works that do not seek permission or compensation from IP. Social media users such as Reddit have agreed that all text published on the site belongs to Reddit.