This is a gut-reaction response to the recent article “The value of mass-digitised cultural heritage content in creative contexts” by Melissa Terras, et al, published in Big Data and Society on April 6, 2021, doi: https://doi.org/10.1177/20539517211006165. My main argument is that exploiting labor and appropriating cultural heritage are integral to generating surplus financial value through the creative reuse of mass digitized cultural heritage.

I want to emphasize that this is an opinion piece and I therefore take a very relaxed tone, which I hope will translate into further discussion with colleagues on these complex topics. So, if you have read any of my other academic work, this will not be quite as polished. Please read on as if we were having a conversation!