$1.14 trillion. That’s how much advertising revenue funds the internet in 2025. Strip away tracking entirely, and you strip away the economic engine that keeps content free. Only 17% of Americans will pay for online news—compared to 22% who’ll pay for Netflix. The math is simple: if advertising can’t function, paywalls rise.
This isn’t a defense of surveillance capitalism. Third-party cookies tracking users across the web deserved the backlash. But the solution isn’t eliminating all tracking—it’s replacing abusive third-party surveillance with transparent first-party data collection. Your WooCommerce store is part of this ecosystem, and understanding the economics helps you make better decisions about how you participate.
The $1.14 Trillion Question
The free internet has never been free. Someone pays. For most of the web’s history, that someone has been advertisers.
According to the WPP Media This Year Next Year Report, global advertising revenue hit $1.14 trillion in 2025, with digital accounting for the majority. In the US alone, digital advertising reached $258.6 billion in 2024—the highest since 2021 with 14.9% year-over-year growth (IAB Internet Advertising Revenue Report).
This money funds journalism, entertainment, tools, and platforms that billions use daily without paying a cent.
But here’s where it gets uncomfortable: tracking makes that advertising work. Advertisers pay premium rates when they can measure results, target relevant audiences, and optimize campaigns. Remove measurement entirely, and advertising becomes a guessing game. Guessing games don’t command $1.14 trillion.
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The Publisher Revenue Crisis Is Already Here
While debates about cookie deprecation continue, publishers are already feeling the squeeze.
Professionally created media now receives only 51% of content-driven ad spend, down from 72% in 2019 (WARC/GroupM via Digital Content Next). That money is flowing to social platforms, user-generated content, and walled gardens—not to the journalists, creators, and publishers who produce original content.
The response? Paywalls. According to the Reuters Institute, 77% of commercial publishers now see subscriptions as their key focus for 2025, ahead of display advertising at 69%. The paywall plateau that many predicted hasn’t stopped the march toward paid content.
And the casualties are mounting:
- One-third of US newspapers that existed in 2005 will have disappeared by 2024
- Over half of US counties now have limited local news coverage
- Newspaper publishing revenue expected to total $30.1 billion in 2025, declining at 2.7% annually
As Digital Content Next observed: “These monies are not coming back. So that makes revenue diversification with subscriptions serving as a cornerstone essential.”
The Uncomfortable Truth About Who Pays
When tracking disappears, the implicit bargain changes. Instead of “your attention and data for free content,” it becomes “your money or nothing.”
Only 17% of US adults paid for online news in the past year. That’s lower than the 22% who subscribe to Netflix. For all the complaints about tracking, most people vote with their wallets: they want free content.
Without advertising to fund it, the internet would have less variety of content, as Quantcast noted in their analysis. News would represent a narrower viewpoint with less local coverage. The publications that survive would be those that either serve wealthy audiences willing to pay or those producing the cheapest content possible.
The question isn’t whether tracking should exist. The question is what kind of tracking respects both users and the economic reality that funds their content.
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Third-Party vs First-Party: The Crucial Distinction
The UK Information Commissioner’s Office put it clearly: “Online tracking enables personalised advertising and funds many free services but when it is not done responsibly harm can occur.”
The key word is “responsibly.” The third-party cookie backlash targeted irresponsible tracking—invisible data brokers following users across the web, building profiles without consent, enabling surveillance capitalism.
First-party data collection is different:
- Direct relationship: You collect data from your own visitors on your own site
- Transparent exchange: Users know what they’re providing and to whom
- Consent-based: Collection happens with permission, not by default
- Actionable: Data stays accurate because it comes from actual interactions
First-party data with consent is the ethical middle ground—sustainable advertising without surveillance.
What This Means for Your WordPress Store
Your WooCommerce store is part of this ecosystem. The ads you run on Facebook and Google depend on tracking to measure results. The content your customers read for free depends on advertising revenue. The platforms where you reach customers depend on the same economic model.
When you implement tracking responsibly, you’re not just serving your business—you’re participating in the value exchange that keeps the open web sustainable.
The practical approach:
- Collect first-party data with consent—your own customer interactions, not third-party surveillance
- Use server-side tracking—data stays on your infrastructure, not scattered across browser cookies
- Maintain accurate measurement—so advertising dollars continue flowing to content, not just walled gardens
Transmute Engine™ implements exactly this approach for WordPress stores. First-party data collection, server-side processing, consent-compliant delivery to GA4, Facebook CAPI, and Google Ads. The same measurement capabilities that keep advertising effective, without the third-party surveillance that caused the backlash.
Key Takeaways
- $1.14 trillion in advertising funds the free internet—there’s no alternative revenue source at scale
- Only 17% of Americans pay for news—users want free content but reject tracking, an unsustainable combination
- Publisher ad revenue is declining—51% of content-driven spend vs 72% in 2019
- Paywalls are rising—77% of publishers now prioritize subscriptions
- First-party data is the ethical path—consent-based collection on your own site, not third-party surveillance
Advertising funds the free internet. In 2025, global ad revenue reached $1.14 trillion, with digital advertising accounting for the majority. This revenue allows publishers, content creators, and platforms to offer content without charging users directly. When users block all tracking or reject all cookies, publishers lose this revenue and must find alternatives—usually paywalls.
Tracking enables personalized advertising, which commands higher rates than generic ads. Advertisers pay more when they can reach relevant audiences with measurable results. Without tracking, ad revenue drops significantly. The UK Information Commissioner’s Office acknowledges that online tracking enables personalised advertising and funds many free services. Remove tracking entirely, and the funding model collapses.
Yes. First-party data collection with user consent offers a sustainable middle ground. Instead of third-party cookies following users across the web, websites collect data directly from their own visitors with permission. This maintains advertising effectiveness while respecting privacy boundaries. It is the ethical alternative to both surveillance-based tracking and paywalled content.
Content moves behind paywalls. 77% of commercial publishers now see subscriptions as their primary revenue focus. One-third of US newspapers that existed in 2005 will have disappeared by 2024, and over half of US counties now have limited local news coverage. Without advertising revenue, only those who can pay will access quality content.
Ready to implement ethical first-party tracking? See how Transmute Engine makes consent-based server-side tracking simple for WordPress.
