Credit Reports

I heard this on the radio this morning: "Starting today, Alabamians can get one free copy of their personal credit report every year." (Follow the link for info on who to contact to get a copy of yours.)

That sounds great - but we all know that nothing is really free. So, my question in this case is - who is paying for this new service? I assume that it's the credit reporting agencies, but no matter who it is - is it really fair for the government to demand that someone - anyone - provide a good or service for free?