If only some Big Bank would create a secure micropayment experiment, we could experimentally determine whether that could supplant the tracking&ads regime. (At least, for those users that despise ads ... targeted or not.)

If the potential rewards for hackers could be kept minimal, it'd not attract interest.

The NYTimes has kept their site reasonable, but I don't want to subscribe. I like the idea of paying per-item, not bulk. That lets users encourage the kind of content (and authors) they want to see more of, while generating revenue for the content that Big Papers must provide (regardless of popular interest).

WHY this topic is always off-the-radar mystifies me.