A small handful of companies – including Facebook, Google, Apple, Tencent, AliBaba and Amazon – dominate the global Internet sector. While these companies provide hugely valuable services to billions of people, they are also consolidating control over human communication and wealth at a level never before seen in history.
Think of smartphones, where just two companies, Google (Android) and Apple (iOS), dominate the market. Everything from the phone’s operating system, to what applications can be purchased in their app stores, are ultimately controlled by these two companies. And speaking of apps – the global app economy is centered in just a few high-income countries (95% of the value is from just 10 countries) with emerging economies accounting for only 1% of app value.
Internet acquisitions by the tech giants feed consolidation. Facebook for instance, controls most of the messaging market in almost every country except China since acquiring WhatsApp and Instagram in addition to their own Facebook Messenger.
In China, WeChat is the dominant player. It is used for messaging by more than 90% of mobile Internet users in major cities. WeChat is also used for dating, banking, ordering taxis, shopping and more. It is a daunting degree of centralization, where the app takes the place of mostly anything you would do on the decentralized Web. This kind of seamless experience is also desired by other app developers. It’s not healthy for the Internet. It destroys competition, and gives one company intimate knowledge of the movements and likes of all its users.
Not concerned? Even where online freedom appears to exist [nod to Edward Snowden] many tech companies are compelled to respond to government requests for private information.
