I think the point he's obliquely trying to make is that the monetization of attention is not a thing that can actually be done right, at all.
We should have solved the problem of bandwidth costs another way - taxes or paying individually for each thing. People keep saying the internet failed. No, the internet has been working perfectly while a bunch of bridge trolls came in and setup shop.
It's about too aggressive monetization vs. user experience and the loss of visitors/ad targets, not some "yeehaw things cost money"