Eric Mack for CNET writes about how The Wall Street Journal‘s paywall can be avoided with the new Google Chrome extension.
Mack writes, “A free download in the Chrome Web Store, this rather simple bit of code provides easy access to much of the articles and other content that more upstanding Journal readers actually pay for.
“The app is basically a script that automatically searches for cached versions of WSJ stories on Google and then places a special icon next to a headline if one is available for that piece. Click on the icon and you’ll be redirected to it through Google, basically doing an end run around the paywall.
“The Wall Street Journal was one of the earlier adopters in the news business of the idea of a paywall–some online content is available for free, but if you want access to everything you’ll need to pay a subscription. It’s also one of the most successful, with plenty of people paying a few bucks a week for online access for several years now.
“‘Read WSJ’ is the latest vulnerability in the armor of the paywall as a concept in the newspaper business. Work-arounds for the New York Times’ paywall were being announced before it even went live, and the paper asked Twitter to shut down a feed that also attempted to circumvent the wall.”
