I don't see how this will end the "free web." No publisher will be forced to use DRM. Anyone can still create a website and make it accessible to anyone for free with an internet connection.
If certain publishers want to require ads to view their content, that seems like their prerogative.
I've seen people open up all of their users' "private" content to Googlebot IPs just to get rid of errors in Google's search/Adsense console "in case it helps revenue" (as in they didn't even know for sure if it would help, only that it shows up as an "error" in Google's console and red=bad)
All you need to do is to jingle some real, if small SEO/ad advantage and people will bend over themselves to lick Google's boots.
If certain publishers want to require ads to view their content, that seems like their prerogative.