Big Tech

Largest technology companies

Brand logos of the Big Five tech companies

Big Tech, also referred to as the Tech Giants or Tech Titans,[1] is a collective term for the largest and most influential technology companies in the world.[2] The label draws a parallel to similar classifications in other industries, such as "Big Oil" or "Big Tobacco".[3] In the United States, it commonly denotes the five dominant firms—Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Meta, and Microsoft—often called the "Big Five".[4][5][6] An expanded grouping, sometimes termed the "Magnificent Seven", includes Nvidia and Tesla, which each have a market capitalization larger than Meta. The concept of Big Tech can also extend to the major Chinese technology firms—Baidu, Alibaba, Tencent, and Xiaomi—collectively referred to as BATX.

## History

[edit]

In the late 20th century, IBM, Apple and Microsoft dominated the IT industry.[7] After the dot-com bubble wiped out most of the Nasdaq Composite stock market index, surviving tech startups expanded their market share and became dominant in their markets. The term Big Tech began to appear around 2013, when some[who?] economists speculated that a lack of regulation could lead to concentrated market power. The term Big Tech became popular following the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections, because access to a large amount of data allowed tech companies to influence their users.[8] The concept of Big Tech is similar to how the largest oil companies were called Big Oil following the 1970s energy crisis, and the largest cigarette producers were called Big Tobacco, as Congress sought to regulate those industries.[3] It is also similar to how, at the turn of the 21st century, the mainstream media became dominated by a small number of corporations called Big Media or the Media Giants.[9] In the early 2020s, software developers and cryptocurrency users responded to the perceived excesses of the tech giants by starting a movement called web3[10][11][12] to incorporate blockchain-based decentralization into the World Wide Web.[13]

## Big Tech companies

[edit]

### U.S. companies

[edit]

The largest corporations by market capitalization with the "Big Five" tech companies in green

#### Alphabet

[edit]

Alphabet is the parent company of Google, which operates several of the world's most widely used internet services. As of 2024, Google is major provider of online advertising (Google Ads), web search (Google Search), video sharing (YouTube), email (Gmail), web browsers (Google Chrome), web mapping (Google Maps and Waze), mobile operating systems (Android), and cloud storage (Google Drive). Its cloud computing division, Google Cloud Platform, ranks third in global market share behind Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure. Google and Meta are often referred to as a digital advertising duopoly.[14] Advertising accounted for 82% of Google's revenue in 2021.[15]

Alphabet is involved in various research and development initiatives in emerging technology fields including artificial intelligence, quantum computing, and autonomous vehicles. In 2019, Google announced that its Sycamore processor had achieved quantum supremacy.[16] In 2021, Alphabet's subsidiary Waymo launched public robotaxi services in the United States.[17]

Alphabet reached a market capitalization of $1 trillion for the first time in January 2020, becoming the fourth U.S. company to do so.[18][19]

#### Amazon

[edit]

Amazon is one of the largest global e-commerce companies and operates several other business lines, including cloud computing, digital streaming, and artificial intelligence. As of 2024, Amazon accounts for 38% of e-commerce market share in the United States.[20] The company's Amazon Web Services (AWS) division is one of the most widely used cloud platforms and has generated the majority of Amazon's operating profit since 2014.[21][22]

Amazon was the second U.S. company after Apple to reach a $1 trillion market cap, briefly doing so in 2018 and again in early 2020. It closed above that threshold for the first time in April 2020.[23] Although Amazon's valuation fell below $1 trillion in late 2022,[24] it recovered in 2023 and surpassed $2 trillion in June 2024.[25]

#### Apple

[edit]

Apple designs and sells electronics and software, including the iPhone, Mac computers, and the Apple Watch. It also offers services such as the App Store, iCloud, and Apple Music. Apple and Google form a mobile operating system duopoly, with iOS holding 27% global market share and Android 72%.[26][27]

In August 2018, Apple became the first publicly traded U.S. company to reach a $1 trillion market capitalization.[28] It reached $2 trillion in August 2020 and $3 trillion in January 2022—the first U.S. company to reach each of those milestones.[29] Apple briefly fell below $2 trillion in January 2023 but again closed above $3 trillion later that year.[30]

#### Meta

[edit]

Meta Platforms owns and operates major social media and messaging services, including Facebook, Instagram, Threads, and WhatsApp. Meta generates most of its revenue through advertising, which accounted for 96.69% of total revenue in 2024.[31]

The company entered the virtual reality market with its 2014 acquisition of Oculus, and in 2021 rebranded from Facebook, Inc. to Meta Platforms to reflect a broader focus on the metaverse, a term referring to digital environments built around virtual and augmented reality technologies.[32] Such efforts are grouped under the umbrella term "Reality Labs" in its financial statements.[31]

#### Microsoft

[edit]

Microsoft develops desktop operating systems, productivity software, and enterprise and cloud services. As of 2024, its products include Microsoft Windows, the Microsoft Office suite (including Microsoft 365), and Microsoft Teams for business communication.[33] Microsoft is also the second-largest cloud provider through Microsoft Azure, after Amazon.[34] It also owns Microsoft Gaming, one of the largest companies in the video game industry.

Microsoft reached a $1 trillion market cap in April 2019,[35] crossed $2 trillion in June 2021,[36] and in October 2021 briefly overtook Apple as the most valuable publicly traded U.S. company.

#### Nvidia

[edit]

Nvidia is a software and fabless semiconductor company that designs and supplies graphics processing units (GPUs), application programming interfaces (APIs) for data science and high-performance computing, and system on a chip (SoC) units for mobile computing and automotive markets. Nvidia is the dominant supplier of hardware and software used by artificial intelligence systems.[37][38][39][40]

Nvidia reached a $1 trillion market capitalization in May 2023,[41] and by late 2024, it had surpassed both Amazon and Alphabet in market value. Nvidia subsequently became one of the most valuable publicly traded U.S. companies, alongside Microsoft and Apple.[42][43][44]

#### Tesla

[edit]

Tesla is primarily an automaker, which has led to debate over its categorization as a technology company. In 2022, Fortune included Tesla in its coverage of Big Tech, and The Washington Post likened Tesla vehicles to iPhones in terms of ecosystem integration.[45][46] Critics, including analysts at Business Insider, argue Tesla should be classified strictly as an automaker.[47] Barron's acknowledged Tesla's position as a tech firm but emphasized that its business model differs from that of traditional IT companies.[48] Part of the rationale for Tesla's inclusion among technology companies stems from its investments in artificial intelligence (AI) and autonomous driving, and robotics technologies. Yahoo Finance and Reuters have both noted that Tesla's stock performance has been increasingly decoupled from its vehicle sales and more closely tied to its technological ambitions.[49][50][51]

Tesla first reached a $1 trillion market capitalization in October 2021.[52][53] Its valuation declined during the 2022 stock market decline, dropping from $1.3 trillion in November 2021 to $495 billion by the end of 2022, including a 40% loss in December alone.[54][55][56] The company again surpassed a $1 trillion valuation in November 2024, before a decline throughout the first quarter of 2025[57].[58]

#### Other U.S. companies

[edit]

Smaller U.S. Big Tech companies[a] Company  | Revenue (US$)[59] | Profit (US$)  | Subsidiaries

|
|
|

Adobe | 21 billion  | 5 billion  | —
AMD | 26 billion  | 2 billion  | —
Broadcom | 52 billion  | 6 billion  | VMware
IBM | 63 billion  | 6 billion  | Red Hat
Netflix | 39 billion  | 9 billion  | —
Nvidia | 131 billion  | 73 billion  | —
OpenAI | 4 billion  | -5 billion  | —
Oracle | 53 billion  | 10 billion  | Cerner
Salesforce | 38 billion  | 6 billion  | Tableau
Slack
Tesla | 98 billion  | 7 billion  | —
Uber | 44 billion  | 10 billion  | —

Several other publicly traded U.S. companies are occasionally associated with Big Tech due to their market capitalization, product reach, or cultural influence. These include Adobe, Broadcom, IBM, Netflix, Oracle, Salesforce, and Uber.[60][61]

### Asian companies

[edit]

The concept of Big Tech can also extend to the major Chinese technology firms—Baidu, Alibaba, Tencent, and Xiaomi—collectively referred to as BATX.[62] More recently, JD.com, Meituan, NetEase, SMIC, and automakers BYD and Geely have been discussed as members of an expanded grouping.[63] TikTok developer ByteDance and drone manufacturer DJI have also been called Big Tech.[64][65]

Outside of China, South Korea's Samsung and Taiwan's TSMC have also been discussed as members of Big Tech.[66]

### Groupings

[edit]

#### Big Four

[edit]

In the early 2010s, Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, and Meta were commonly referred to as the Big Four. They were also referred to as The Four, the Gang of Four, and the Four Horsemen.[67][68][69] Eric Schmidt, Phil Simon, and Scott Galloway grouped the Big Four together based on their ability to create social change. They serve billions of users,[70] and are able to influence user behavior and control large amounts of user data.[8] As such, they have been criticized for creating a new economic order called surveillance capitalism.[71] According to Simon and Galloway, this distinguishes them from other Big Tech companies such as Microsoft and IBM.[72][73]

In 2011, Google executive chair Eric Schmidt excluded Microsoft from the group, stating, "Microsoft is not driving the consumer revolution in the minds of the consumers."[74][75] In the late 2010s, the term Big Four lost favor as Microsoft changed its business strategy and increased its market value, leading to its widespread inclusion among the other four and leading to the Big Five designation.[76][77][78]

#### Big Five

[edit]

Big Five tech companies[b] Company  | Revenue (USD)[79] | Profit (USD)  | Subsidiaries

|
|
|

Alphabet | $350 billion  | $100 billion  | Google
Waymo
YouTube
Amazon | $637 billion  | $59 billion  | Audible
Twitch
AWS
Apple | $391 billion  | $94 billion  | Beats
Meta | $164 billion  | $62 billion  | Facebook
Instagram
Reality Labs
WhatsApp
Microsoft | $245 billion  | $88 billion  | Azure
GitHub
LinkedIn
Xbox

Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Meta, and Microsoft are known as the Big Five tech companies.[76][80][81][82][83] They are among the most valuable public companies.[84][85] In 2020, the Big Five ranked as the second through sixth most valuable public companies in the world, behind Saudi Aramco.[84] In August 2020, the Big Five accounted for nearly a quarter of the S&P 500. In March 2023, Apple and Microsoft accounted for 13 percent of the S&P 500.[86] The Big Five are among the most prestigious employers in the world.[87][88][89]

In the 21st century the Big Five tech companies surpassed the market capitalization of the historically dominant Big Oil companies BP, Chevron, ExxonMobil, and Shell. In 2019, Jason Whittaker stated that they also outpaced Big Media companies such as Comcast, Disney, and Warner Bros. Discovery by a factor of 10.[90] In 2017, the Big Five had a combined value of over $3.3 trillion, and made up almost half of the Nasdaq-100.[26]

#### Magnificent Seven

[edit]

A broader group known as the Magnificent Seven adds Nvidia and Tesla to the Big Five, based on their substantial contributions to the S&P 500 index since 2022. In 2023, the group was responsible for nearly two-thirds of the S&P 500's 24% gain.[91] The Magnificent Seven delivered a 107% return on investment that year, a performance analysts attributed to the artificial intelligence boom and expectations of interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve.[92]

By January 2024, the group accounted for 29% of the S&P 500s total market capitalization.[93] In February, as the Magnificent Seven neared a combined valuation of $13 trillion,[94] Deutsche Bank observed that the group's combined market capitalization exceeded that of every public company in every G20 country except China, Japan, and the United States itself.[95]

At the end of the second quarter of 2024, Morgan Stanley estimated that the Magnificent Seven represented 31% of the S&P 500s total valuation.[96] Some analysts expressed concern that the group's extreme concentration could trigger a downturn similar to the dot-com crash or even the Wall Street Crash of 1929.[97] Others argued the companies could continue to outperform due to sustained inflows into index funds.[91]

On August 5, 2024, the Magnificent Seven collectively lost $1 trillion in market value at the start of trading hours.[98]

The term Magnificent Seven was coined in May 2023 by Bank of America strategist Michael Hartnett, referencing the 1960 Western film,[63] and popularized by Jim Cramer, the host of CNBC's Mad Money.[66]

#### Acronyms

[edit]

Acronyms such as FANG, FAANG, GAFA, GAFAM, MAMAA, GAMMA, and others have been used to refer to Big Tech companies.[99] Alphabet, the parent company of Google, may be represented by G in these acronyms, and Meta, the rebranding of Facebook, may be represented by F.[77]

The acronym FANG was coined in 2013 by Jim Cramer, to refer to Facebook, Amazon, Netflix, and Google. Cramer called these companies "totally dominant in their markets".[100] Cramer stated that the four companies were poised to "take a bite out of" the bear market, giving a double meaning to the acronym, according to Cramer's colleague at RealMoney.com, Bob Lang.[100][101][102] Cramer expanded FANG to FAANG in 2017, adding Apple to the list because its revenue made it a potential Fortune 50 company.[103]

Following Facebook's name change to Meta Platforms in October 2021, as well as the 2015 creation of Google holding company Alphabet, Cramer suggested replacing FAANG with MAMAA, replacing Netflix with Microsoft because Netflix's valuation had fallen behind the other companies. With Microsoft, these companies were each valued at over $900 billion compared to Netflix's $310 billion.[77] In November 2021, The Motley Fool suggested MANAMANA (a reference to the 1968 song "Mah Nà Mah Nà") as an acronym that stands for Microsoft, Apple, Netflix, Alphabet, Meta, Amazon, Nvidia, and Adobe.[104]

At the international level Baidu, Alibaba, Tencent and Xiaomi, referred to as BATX, are often seen as Chinese competitors to Big Tech. Futurist Amy Webb has called the combination of the Big Five, IBM, Alibaba, Baidu, and Tencent "G-MAFIA BAT".[105]

## Causes

[edit]

Nikos Smyrnaios argued in 2016 that four phenomena allowed Big Tech to emerge: technological convergence, deregulation, globalization, and financialization.[62] He argued that people like Nicholas Negroponte promoted technological convergence and made an Internet oligopoly appear desirable. The complexity of IT made competition law ineffective, resulting in industry self-regulation. Globalization allowed Big Tech companies to minimize their tax burden and pay foreign workers lower wages.[62] Without regulation, Big Tech earned big profits: in 2014, Google, Apple, and Facebook earned over 20 percent profit margins.[62]

### Innovation

[edit]

Critics have alleged that Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act allowed Big Tech to evade responsibility for user-generated content. It states, "No provider or user of an interactive computer service shall be treated as the publisher or speaker of any information provided by another information content provider." Section 230 has been called "the twenty-six words that created the Internet".[106][107] Without the legal requirement for content moderation, online services could innovate freely and achieved rapid growth in the early days of the Internet.[108]

According to Alexis Madrigal, the innovation that initially characterized Silicon Valley has been replaced by a strategy of growth through acquisitions.[109] For example, Apple started in 1976 as an engineering-focused startup company, and quickly claimed market share from less innovative competitors like Xerox.[109] The tech giants made timely investments in personal computers, websites, e-commerce, mobile devices, social media, and cloud computing, and rank highly on the list of companies by research and development spending.[110][111] However, large companies tend to focus on operational efficiency instead of new product development.[109]

Legal scholar Tim Wu speculated that Big Tech acquisitions could create "kill zones" that stifle competition by taking potential competitors out of the marketplace. For example, Facebook's acquisition of Instagram prevented Instagram from becoming an independent platform similar to Facebook.[112] On the other hand, Wu stated that Microsoft's concentration of market power created a platform for new kinds of innovation.[113]

According to the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, "Virtually all so-called killer acquisitions represent the technologies and capabilities the companies view as critical to their competitiveness. If they purchase a company innovating within this zone, they are far more likely to develop its innovation than to bury it. In doing so, they often make the technology available faster and to more people than would otherwise be possible. If companies are prevented from making acquisitions, they are more likely to copy the products or develop alternative innovations than they are to ignore them. Assuming incumbents don't violate intellectual property laws, this type of competition is both legal and socially beneficial."[114]

Competition between cloud platforms including Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud Platform contributed to open-source software infrastructure including LLVM and the Linux kernel. The "cloud wars" also caused Big Tech companies to invest in data centers and undersea cables. The operational efficiency of Big Tech technology stacks means startup companies typically must use Big Tech infrastructure instead of building their own.[115][116]

### Business strategy

[edit]

Nikos Smyrnaios argued in 2016 that Big Tech companies concentrate power by vertically integrating data centers, Internet connectivity, computer hardware (including smartphones), operating systems, applications (including Web browsers), and online services. He also argued that they concentrate power by horizontally integrating different services such as email, instant messaging, online searching, downloading, and streaming across platforms.[62] For example, Google and Microsoft pay for their search engines to be included with Apple's iPhone.[117] According to The Economist, "Network and scale effects mean that size begets size, while data can act as a barrier to entry."[118]

### Capitalism

[edit]

The 2020 American docudrama film The Social Dilemma argues that capitalism is the root cause of Big Tech's harmful practices.[119]

## Criticism

[edit]

According to The Globe and Mail, both left-wing and right-wing politicians have criticized Big Tech.[120] Progressives have alleged "runaway profit-taking and concentration of wealth", and conservatives have alleged "liberal bias".[120] According to The New York Times, "The left generally argues that companies like Facebook and Twitter aren't doing enough to root out misinformation, extremism and hate on their platforms, while the right insists that tech companies are going so overboard in their content decisions that they're suppressing conservative political views."[121] According to The Hill, libertarians oppose government regulation of Big Tech due to their support for laissez-faire economics.[122]

Scott Galloway said Big Tech companies "avoid taxes, invade privacy, and destroy jobs".[123] Nikos Smyrnaios described Big Tech as an oligopoly that dominates the information technology market through anti-competitive practices, ever-increasing economic power, and intellectual property.[62] Smyrnaios argued that the current situation is the result of deregulation, globalization, and the failure of politicians to understand and respond to developments in technology. Smyrnaios recommended developing academic analysis of the political economy of the Internet to understand the methods of domination and to criticize these methods to encourage opposition to that domination.[62]

Big Tech has been criticized for its association with a series of "interconnected and overlapping" techno-futurist movements known as "TESCREAL", which has been criticized as Big Tech and Silicon Valley's perceived belief system.[124][125][126] The movement has been generally criticized as using the threat of human extinction as justifying expensive and futuristic projects by tech billionaires without ethical or safety concerns.[127][128][129]

### Accusations of censorship and election interference

[edit]

Further information: Social media censorship controversy

In the United States, conservatives and Republican politicians frequently allege censorship of their viewpoints and ideas,[130] however, research has not supported the allegation that social media companies are biased against conservative viewpoints.[131] The practice of banning hate speech has also received criticism from conservatives.[132] Following the 2020 United States presidential election, CNN described a "yearslong intimidation campaign led by Republican attorneys general and state and federal lawmakers" to make social media companies "platform falsehoods and hate speech" and thwart those "working to study or limit the spread" of it.[130] According to a February 2021 report by New York University researchers, conservative claims of social media censorship could be considered disinformation and false. The report also recommended that social media platforms should increase their transparency to push back against claims of censorship.[133][134] Republican-introduced bills in many states have allowed for civil lawsuits against social media companies over perceived "censorship" of posts, especially those related to politics or religion.[131] During the 2024 United States presidential election, The New York Times described social media as being predominantly right-leaning despite claims of conservative censorship,[135] and the Pew Research Center found that a majority of social media influencers leaned to the right.[136]

In July 2020, the United States House Judiciary Subcommittee on Antitrust, Commercial and Administrative Law interviewed the CEOs of Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, and Facebook. During the hearings, some members of Congress alleged bias against conservatives on social media.[137] Matt Gaetz protested Amazon's ban on donations to hate groups, stating that Jeff Bezos should "divorce from the SPLC".[138]

On November 5, 2020, President Donald Trump alleged "historic election interference from big money, big media, and big tech". Conservative newspaper The Washington Times criticized Trump's claims as lacking evidence.[139] During Trump's speech that incited the January 6 United States Capitol attack, he accused Big Tech of rigging the 2020 election and promised to "get rid of" Section 230. According to Trump, "They rigged it like they have never rigged an election before, and by the way, last night, they didn't do a bad job either."[140] After Trump's Twitter account was suspended, German Chancellor Angela Merkel's chief spokesman Steffen Seibert noted that Merkel found Twitter's halt of Trump's account "problematic", adding that legislators, not private companies, should decide on any necessary curbs to free expression if hate speech incites violence.[141][142]

Conservatives argued that Facebook and Twitter limiting the spread of the Hunter Biden laptop controversy "proves Big Tech's bias".[143][144] In some cases, Big Tech platforms reversed actions perceived as censorship. The YouTube channel Right Wing Watch was banned for showing far-right content to expose extreme views, but the channel was restored after viewer backlash.[145] Human Rights Watch stated that excessive content removal, especially on Facebook, meant losing evidence of human rights abuses.[146]

Facebook has also been accused of censoring left-wing opinions. Facebook removed ads by Democratic senator Elizabeth Warren, who advocated breaking up Facebook.[147] Warren accused the company of having the "ability to shut down a debate" and called for "a social media marketplace that isn't dominated by a single censor".[148][149]

In 2025, Meta's Facebook, Elon Musk's X, Google's YouTube, and other tech companies agreed to address online hate speech by enforcing a revised code of conduct aligned with European Commission rules. Henna Virkkunen, the EU tech commissioner, stated that Europe has zero tolerance for hate speech, whether online or offline. She approved the tech companies' commitment to enforcing the code of conduct mandated by the Digital Services Act (DSA).[150]

### Accusations of inaction toward misinformation and disinformation

[edit]

Following Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections, Facebook was criticized for failing to curb disinformation.[151] In the Facebook–Cambridge Analytica data scandal, Facebook users were targeted for political propaganda based on their online activity, which Facebook monitored and shared without consent.[152] In 2019, a Senate Intelligence Committee report criticized Facebook and Twitter for failing to stop the spread of misinformation.[153] In response to criticism of their handling of misinformation and disinformation during the 2016 election, Big Tech companies cracked down on fake accounts and trolling.[154][155]

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Big Tech was criticized for allowing COVID-19 misinformation.[156][157] According to Representatives Frank Pallone, Mike Doyle, and Jan Schakowsky, "Industry self-regulation has failed. We must begin the work of changing incentives driving social media companies to allow and even promote misinformation and disinformation."[158][159] President Joe Biden criticized Facebook for allowing anti-vaccine activism.[160][161] Imran Ahmed, CEO of the Center for Countering Digital Hate, said, "While they fail to take action, lives are being lost."[162] In response to the criticism, Big Tech companies deleted numerous social media accounts and banned health-related false advertising. Human Rights Watch has criticized Big Tech, primarily Facebook, for allowing misinformation to spread in developing countries.[146]

### Censorship by governments

[edit]

Further information: Censorship of social media

Big Tech companies have faced political censorship. China banned Google in 2010 because Google refused to censor search results critical of the Chinese Communist Party.[163][164] Meta and X have been banned in China since 2009.[164] In India, Facebook and Twitter were accused of censorship during the 2020–2021 Indian farmers' protest.[165][166] The Wall Street Journal stated that Facebook only restricted content criticizing the Indian government, even if government supporters posted false statements.[167]

In 2021, Alexei Navalny criticized Apple and Google for complying with a Russian government order to ban the Smart Voting app.[163] On February 24, 2022, the Russian invasion of Ukraine began. In March 2022, Russia blocked Facebook and Twitter because of "disinformation" and "fake news".[168] On March 21, 2022, Russia recognized Meta as an "extremist organization", making Meta the first public company recognized as extremist in Russia.[169] Microsoft's LinkedIn has been blocked in Russia since 2016.[170]

### Environmental impact

[edit]

This section is an excerpt from Environmental impact of Big Tech.[edit]

The environmental impact of Big Tech is a phenomenon in which many aspects of Big Tech contribute to negative impacts on the environment and climate change. In the big data age, technologists and people in general find it valuable to view emerging technologies with a critical lens, one of which is geared toward the environment. As these emerging technologies become more popular, they consider the extent at which they contribute to changes in the environment and whether they are inherently positive or negative.

A 2022 report from Greenpeace and Stand.earth highlights the technology sector's rapid growth, driving a significant increase in electricity consumption, projected to rise by over 60% between 2020 and 2030. This increase in energy usage is coupled with a rise in carbon emissions attributed to the sector's heavy dependence on fossil fuels. While some Big Tech firms have committed to transitioning to 100% renewable energy for their operations, this commitment has not yet extended to their supply chains. Seven out of ten ranked consumer electronics brands have committed to achieve 100% renewable energy across their own operations by 2030, with Apple, Google, and Microsoft already achieving this goal.[171] In 2023, Big Tech accounted for approximately 4 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, surpassing those of the aviation industry.[172] Google and Microsoft each consumed 24 TWh of electricity in 2023, more than countries such as Iceland, Ghana, the Dominican Republic, or Tunisia.[173]

### Reuse of copyrighted content

[edit]

On May 9, 2019, the Parliament of France passed a law intended to force Big Tech to pay publishers for the reuse of substantial amounts of copyrighted content (related rights). The law is aimed at implementing Article 15 of the Directive on Copyright in the Digital Single Market of the European Union.[174]

## Antitrust efforts

[edit]

Concerns over monopolistic practices have led to antitrust investigations in Big Tech from both United States and European Union regulatory agencies.[175][176][177][178] These investigations have raised concerns around Big Tech on privacy, market power, freedom of speech, national security, and law enforcement.[179] In 2019, John Naughton wrote in The Guardian, "It's almost impossible to function without the big five tech giants."[180]

### United States

[edit]

Further information: United States v. Apple (2012), Epic Games v. Apple, FTC v. Meta, FTC v. Microsoft, Epic Games v. Google, FTC v. Amazon, and United States v. Apple (2024)

Under United States antitrust law, the consumer welfare standard assumes that large companies are not automatically harmful. Antitrust enforcement generally aims to prevent harm to consumers.[181] According to some policy analysts, Big Tech innovation benefits consumers.[182] Big Tech CEOs have consistently opposed antitrust regulation. Antitrust investigations of Big Tech began in the late 1990s, leading to the first major case against Big Tech in 2001, when the U.S. government accused Microsoft of illegally maintaining its monopoly position in the PC market.

Microsoft imposed legal and technical restrictions on PC manufacturers and users preventing them from uninstalling Internet Explorer and using Netscape or Java. The district court ruled that Microsoft's actions constituted monopolization under the Sherman Antitrust Act, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit affirmed most of the district court's judgments. The Department of Justice (DOJ) announced on September 6, 2001, that it would not seek to break up Microsoft, and would instead seek a lesser penalty if Microsoft agreed to share its APIs with third-party companies and appoint a three-person panel with access to Microsoft's systems, records, and source code for five years. On November 1, 2002, Judge Kollar-Kotelly accepted most of the proposed settlement, and on June 30, 2004, the U.S. appeals court unanimously approved the settlement.[183]

In the late 2010s, Big Tech was investigated by the DOJ and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) for anticompetitive mergers and acquisitions. Some Democratic presidential candidates proposed breaking up Big Tech companies or regulating them as utilities. FTC chairman Joseph Simons said, "The role of technology in the economy and in our lives grows more important every day...As I've noted in the past, it makes sense for us to closely examine technology markets to ensure consumers benefit from free and fair competition."[184][185] In 2017, Elizabeth Warren criticized Big Tech for offering free services to remain more popular than the competition.[186] The United States House Judiciary Subcommittee on Antitrust, Commercial and Administrative Law investigated Big Tech in June 2020, and published a report in January 2021 concluding that Amazon, Apple, Google, and Meta operated in an anticompetitive manner.[187][188]

On June 24, 2021, the United States House Judiciary Subcommittee on Antitrust, Commercial and Administrative Law held hearings on proposed Big Tech regulations. Pramila Jayapal introduced HR 3825, The Ending Platform Monopolies Act, which passed the committee.[189] The bill proposed prohibiting platform owners from offering products and services on the platforms they own. For example, in 2010, Amazon attempted to acquire Diapers.com. When Diapers.com rejected Amazon's proposal, Amazon started selling diapers at a loss. Facing unprofitability, Diapers.com agreed to let Amazon buy the company even though Walmart was willing to pay more.[190] The committee voted that the reason for Big Tech monopolies is because of the consumer welfare standard, a legal doctrine stating that if the consumer benefits from corporate actions, those actions are generally legal. FTC chairwoman Lina Khan expressed a different view in her publication "Amazon's Antitrust Paradox".

On July 9, 2021, President Joe Biden signed Executive Order 14036, "Promoting Competition in the American Economy", a sweeping array of initiatives across the executive branch. The order established an executive branch-wide policy to more thoroughly scrutinize mergers involving Big Tech companies, with focus on the acquisition of new, potentially disruptive technology from smaller companies by the larger companies. The order also instructed the FTC to establish rules related to the use of data collection by Big Tech companies for promoting their own services.[191][192] In June 2024, the DOJ and FTC opened an investigation into Microsoft, Nvidia, and OpenAI regarding their dominance in artificial intelligence.[193][194] In August 2024, District of Columbia U.S. District Court Judge Amit Mehta ruled that Google held a monopoly in online search and text advertising in violation of Section 2 of the Sherman Antitrust Act.[195][196] In April 2025, Eastern Virginia U.S. District Court Judge Leonie Brinkema ruled that Google held a monopoly in advertising technology in violation of Sections 1 and 2 of the Sherman Antitrust Act.[197][198] Google issued press releases in response announcing that the company would appeal the rulings.[195][197]

### European Union

[edit]

Further information: Microsoft Corp. v. Commission

The European Commission, which has imposed sanctions on several of the high-tech giants

In June 2020, the European Union opened two investigations into Apple. The first investigation focused on whether Apple uses market dominance to stifle competition in music and book streaming. The second investigation focused on Apple Pay. Apple limits the use of the iPhone's NFC technology by financial institutions, including banks.[199][200]

According to European Commissioner for Competition Margrethe Vestager, fines are insufficient to deter anticompetitive practices. Vestager stated, "Fines are not doing the trick. And fines are not enough because fines are a punishment for illegal behaviour in the past. What is also in our decision is that you have to change for the future. You have to stop what you're doing."[201]

In September 2021, the United States and European Union began negotiating a joint approach to Big Tech regulation.[202] The European Parliament passed the Digital Markets Act (DMA) in March 2022 to restrict data collection from European users, require social media interoperability, and allow alternative app stores and payment systems for Apple and Google smartphones.[203][204] The EU also passed the Digital Services Act (DSA) in April 2022, which requires tech companies to take down hate speech and child sexual abuse, and ban advertising targeting gender, race, religion, and childhood.[205] Both the Digital Markets Act and Digital Services Act were enacted by the EU in July 2022.[206] The EU defined Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, ByteDance, Meta, and Microsoft as "gatekeepers" under the DMA in September 2023, and required them to comply by March 2024.[207] On June 24, 2024, the European Union charged Apple with breaching the Digital Markets Act, potentially resulting in a significant fine. A final decision is expected by March 2025. The EU is also investigating Apple's new terms and fees for app developers, criticizing the company's restrictions and handling of AI-powered features in the EU.[208]

## Alternatives

[edit]

Main articles: Alt-tech, Fediverse, and Web3

Alt-tech is a collection of social networking services and Internet service providers popular among the alt-right, far-right, and others who espouse extremism or fringe theories, typically because they employ looser content moderation than mainstream platforms.[209][210][154] The term "alt-tech" is a portmanteau of "alt-right" and "Big Tech".

The fediverse is a collection of federated social networking services that can communicate with each other even if they are controlled independently. Users of different websites can send and receive status updates and multimedia files across the network. The term "fediverse" is a portmanteau of "federation" and "universe".[211]

Web3 (also known as Web 3.0)[10][11][12] is an idea for a new iteration of the World Wide Web which incorporates concepts such as decentralization, blockchain technologies, and token-based economics.[13] Some technologists and journalists have contrasted it with Web 2.0, in which they claim user-generated content is controlled by a small group of companies referred to as Big Tech.[212]

### Little Tech

[edit]

Some critics have contrasted Big Tech with startup culture, which they semi-humorously refer to as Little Tech. Little Tech has attracted attention for technical innovation and encouraging digital wellbeing. Advocates like Andreessen Horowitz argue that Little Tech is threatened by anticompetitive policies. Little Tech advocates emphasize the importance of investing in startup companies to support technological progress. However, critics differ on the impact of Little Tech and the need for governments to support startup companies. Some critics argue that the Little Tech agenda is a wish list for venture capitalists that seeks preferential treatment for risky investments rather than accelerating innovation. Despite these criticisms, Little Tech companies have demonstrated the ability to solve problems that might be too specific for Big Tech companies to be interested in. Little Tech companies often develop custom solutions for local governments, enhancing public services and promoting digital transformation. Some Little Tech initiatives aim to educate and empower users, such as by helping teenagers understand technology. Organizations like the American Innovators Network support the Little Tech agenda by offering workshops and consultations.[213][214]

## See also

[edit]

* Internet portal
* Companies portal

* Criticism of Amazon
* Criticism of Apple Inc.
* Criticism of Facebook
* Criticism of Google
* DeGoogle
* Googlization
* Criticism of Microsoft
* Criticism of Tesla, Inc.
* Criticism of technology
* Enshittification
* Platform economy
* Privacy concerns with social networking services
* Surveillance capitalism
* Tech–industrial complex
* Technology and society
* United States antitrust law
* Anti-competitive practices
* Barriers to entry
* Imperfect competition
* Market concentration (Duopoly/Oligopoly)
* Market power
* Monopolistic competition
* Monopoly (Natural/Coercive)
* Web3

## Notes

[edit]

1. ^ Data is based on the 2022 Fortune 500.
2. ^ Based on data from the 2022 Fortune 500

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Feller, Ethan (July 18, 2023). "Alphabet Earnings Preview: Tech Titans Battle for AI and Cloud Supremacy". Yahoo! Finance. Retrieved June 22, 2024.
2. ^ Khanal, Shaleen; Zhang, Hongzhou; Taeihagh, Araz (April 4, 2025). "Why and how is the power of Big Tech increasing in the policy process? The case of generative AI". Policy and Society. 44 (1): 52–69\. doi:10.1093/polsoc/puae012. ISSN 1449-4035.
3. ^ a b Oremus, Will (November 17, 2017). "Big Tobacco. Big Pharma. Big Tech?". Slate. Retrieved November 22, 2021.
4. ^ "The Economics of Big Tech". Financial Times. March 29, 2018. Retrieved June 6, 2019.
5. ^ "We're Stuck With the Tech Giants. But They're Stuck With Each Other". New York Times. November 13, 2019. Retrieved April 22, 2020.
6. ^ Birch, Kean; Bronson, Kelly (2022). "Big Tech". Science as Culture. 31 (1): 1–14\. doi:10.1080/09505431.2022.2036118.
7. ^ Researcher, C. Q. (September 14, 2021). Issues for Debate in American Public Policy: Selections from CQ Researcher. CQ Press. ISBN 978-1-07-183525-8.
8. ^ a b Hendrickson, Clara; Galston, William A. (May 28, 2019). "Big tech threats: Making sense of the backlash against online platforms". Brookings Institution. Retrieved November 19, 2021.
9. ^ Herrmann, Edward; McChesney, Robert W. (2001), Global Media: The New Missionaries of Global Capitalism, A&C Black, pp. 52–53
10. ^ a b Edelman, Gilad. "What Is Web3, Anyway?". Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. Archived from the original on February 10, 2022. Retrieved December 3, 2021.
11. ^ a b Alford, Harry (September 16, 2021). "Crypto's networked collaboration will drive Web 3.0". TechCrunch. Archived from the original on September 16, 2021. Retrieved November 9, 2021.
12. ^ a b Khoshafian, Setrag (March 12, 2021). "Can the Real Web 3.0 Please Stand Up?". RTInsights. Archived from the original on March 12, 2021. Retrieved November 9, 2021.
13. ^ a b Fenwick, Mark and Jurcys, Paulius, The Contested Meaning of Web3 and Why it Matters for (IP) Lawyers (January 27, 2022). Available at SSRN: SSRN 4017790 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4017790
14. ^ Fischer, Sara (September 29, 2020). "Media's failed attempt to take on the Facebook-Google 'duopoly'". Axios. Retrieved March 12, 2022.'&rft.date=2020-09-29&rft.aulast=Fischer&rft.aufirst=Sara&rft_id=https://www.axios.com/medias-failed-attempt-to-take-on-the-facebook-google-duopoly-f6011c72-0209-4e49-9f6d-5c52b9212245.html&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:Big+Tech" class="Z3988">
15. ^ Novet, Jordan (September 26, 2021). "Google is slashing the amount it keeps from sales on its cloud marketplace as pressure mounts on app stores". CNBC. Retrieved October 24, 2021.
16. ^ Gibney, Elizabeth (October 23, 2019). "Hello quantum world! Google publishes landmark quantum supremacy claim". Nature. 574 (7779): 461–462\. Bibcode:2019Natur.574..461G. doi:10.1038/d41586-019-03213-z. PMID 31645740. S2CID 204836839.
17. ^ O'Kane, Sean (August 24, 2021). "Waymo starts offering autonomous rides in San Francisco". The Verge. Retrieved March 13, 2022.
18. ^ Elias, Jennifer (January 16, 2020). "Alphabet, Google's parent company, hits trillion-dollar market cap for first time". CNBC. Retrieved March 15, 2023.
19. ^ Ramkumar, Amrith (January 16, 2020). "Alphabet Becomes Fourth U.S. Company to Reach $1 Trillion Market Value". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved March 15, 2023.
20. ^ "Latest US Ecommerce Statistics (2025) | StatsUp". analyzify.com. Retrieved March 28, 2025.
21. ^ "In the 15 years since its launch, Amazon Web Services transformed how companies do business". The Seattle Times. March 13, 2021. Retrieved October 24, 2021.
22. ^ Novet, Jordan (September 5, 2021). "How Amazon's cloud business generates billions in profit". CNBC. Retrieved October 24, 2021.
23. ^ Feiner, Lauren (April 14, 2020). "Amazon stock hits a new all-time high as it sees unprecedented demand". CNBC. Retrieved March 15, 2023.
24. ^ Capoot, Ashley (November 1, 2022). "Amazon sell-off pushes market cap below $1 trillion for first time since April 2020". CNBC.
25. ^ Palmer, Annie (June 26, 2024). "Amazon reaches $2 trillion market cap for the first time". CNBC.
26. ^ a b Sen, Conor (November 15, 2017). "The 'Big Five' Could Destroy the Tech Ecosystem". Bloomberg.
27. ^ "How 5 Tech Giants Have Become More Like Governments Than Companies", NPR, October 26, 2017
28. ^ Salinas, Sara (August 2, 2018). "Apple hangs onto its historic $1 trillion market cap". CNBC.
29. ^ Leswing, Kif (January 3, 2022). "Apple becomes first U.S. company to reach $3 trillion market cap". CNBC.
30. ^ Field, Hayden (June 30, 2023). "Apple's market cap closes above $3 trillion for the first time". CNBC.
31. ^ a b "Meta Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2024 Results". January 29, 2025.
32. ^ Dwoskin, Elizabeth (October 28, 2021). "Facebook is changing its name to Meta as it focuses on the virtual world". The Washington Post.
33. ^ "Microsoft Teams Now Has Roughly 250 Million Monthly Active Users Globally".
34. ^ Vargas, Cristina (October 25, 2019). "Cloud Market Share 2019: AWS vs Azure vs Google – Who's Winning?". Skyhigh.
35. ^ Levy, Ari (April 25, 2019). "Microsoft hits $1 trillion market cap for the first time as stock jumps on earnings beat". CNBC.
36. ^ Novet, Jordan (June 24, 2021). "Microsoft closes above $2 trillion market cap for the first time". CNBC.
37. ^ Enderle, Rob (January 18, 2022). "Why NVIDIA Has Become a Leader in the AI Market". Datamation. Archived from the original on May 29, 2022. Retrieved April 11, 2022.
38. ^ Goldman, Sharon (February 23, 2023). "How Nvidia dominated AI — and plans to keep it that way as generative AI explodes". VentureBeat. Archived from the original on March 1, 2023. Retrieved March 1, 2023.
39. ^ "Nvidia: The chip maker that became an AI superpower". May 25, 2023. Archived from the original on December 23, 2023. Retrieved January 2, 2024.
40. ^ "Why everyone is suddenly talking about Nvidia, the nearly $3 trillion-dollar company fueling the AI revolution". NBC News. June 5, 2024. Retrieved June 12, 2024.
41. ^ Goswami, Rohan (May 30, 2023). "Nvidia crosses into $1 trillion market cap before giving back gains". CNBC. Retrieved May 30, 2023.
42. ^ Leswing, Kif (February 13, 2024). "Nvidia is now worth more than Amazon thanks to the AI chip boom". CNBC. Retrieved February 15, 2024.
43. ^ Leswing, Kif (February 14, 2024). "Nvidia passes Alphabet in market cap and is now the third most valuable U.S. company". CNBC. Retrieved February 15, 2024.
44. ^ Leswing, Kif (November 5, 2024). "Nvidia passes Apple as world's most valuable company". CNBC. Retrieved November 5, 2024.
45. ^ "Big Tech stocks weathered the Q1 selloff. Others weren't so lucky". Fortune. Retrieved April 22, 2022.
46. ^ "Tesla is like an 'iPhone on wheels.' And consumers are locked into its ecosystem". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved April 22, 2022.
47. ^ DeBord, Matthew. "Everyone who thinks Tesla is a tech company is completely wrong — Tesla should aspire to be Honda". Business Insider. Retrieved April 22, 2022.
48. ^ Root, Al. "Why Tesla Isn't a Very Good Tech Company". www.barrons.com. Retrieved April 22, 2022.
49. ^ "Tesla's AI push could pave the way for the next chapter of its stock story". Yahoo Finance. Retrieved April 23, 2025.
50. ^ "Tesla's stock defied gravity for years. Is Elon Musk's EV party over?". Reuters. Retrieved April 23, 2025.
51. ^ "Tesla's Valuation Shows What Wall Street Thinks AI Is Worth". Barron's. Retrieved April 23, 2025.
52. ^ Subin, Samantha (October 25, 2021). "Tesla hits $1 trillion market cap for the first time after Hertz says it will buy 100,000 electric vehicles". CNBC. Retrieved December 29, 2022.
53. ^ Lahiff, Keris (October 25, 2021). "As Tesla joins the elite $1 trillion stock club, two traders see another potential milestone ahead". CNBC. Retrieved December 29, 2022.
54. ^ Bobrowsky, Meghan (December 30, 2022). "Tesla Stock Fell 65% in 2022, Its Biggest-Ever Annual Decline". The Wall Street Journal. News Corp. Retrieved December 30, 2022.
55. ^ Kolodny, Lora (December 14, 2022). "Elon Musk sells another huge chunk of Tesla shares". CNBC. Retrieved December 29, 2022.
56. ^ Goswami, Rohan (December 27, 2022). "Tesla's stock is headed for its worst month, quarter and year on record". CNBC. Retrieved December 29, 2022.
57. ^ Isidore, Chris (April 2, 2025). "Tesla sales plunge: Biggest decline in history". CNN.
58. ^ Palmer, Annie (November 8, 2024). "Tesla hits $1 trillion market cap as stock rallies after Trump win". CNBC. Retrieved November 8, 2024.
59. ^ "Fortune 500". Fortune. Retrieved November 17, 2022.
60. ^ Alexandra S. Levine (February 26, 2021). "Is Twitter angling to become Big Tech?". Politico. Retrieved August 8, 2021.
61. ^ "From Facebook to Twitter, Big Tech sees social commerce driving sales growth". Reuters. July 29, 2021. Retrieved August 8, 2021.
62. ^ a b c d e f g Smyrnaios, Nikos (2016). "L'effet GAFAM : stratégies et logiques de l'oligopole de l'internet" [The GAFAM effect: Strategies and logics of the internet oligopoly]. Communication et Langages (in French). 2016 (188). NecPlus: 61–83\. doi:10.4074/S0336150016012047. ISSN 0003-5033. Archived from the original on July 13, 2019. Retrieved July 13, 2019.
63. ^ a b Westbrook, Tom; Shen, Samuel (February 19, 2025). "Nicknames bloom in China's tech renaissance". Reuters. Archived from the original on February 26, 2025.
64. ^ "Why China crushed its tech giants". Wired UK. ISSN 1357-0978. Retrieved September 29, 2021.
65. ^ "China's DJI rebuffs Russian post calling its drones 'symbol of modern warfare'". South China Morning Post. August 15, 2022. Retrieved November 18, 2022.
66. ^ a b Drury, Keithen (July 6, 2024). "Forget the 'Magnificent Seven.' What About the Incredible Eight?". The Motley Fool. Retrieved April 17, 2025.
67. ^ Swisher, Kara (July 1, 2020). "Opinion | Here Come the 4 Horsemen of the Techopolypse". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved August 28, 2020.
68. ^ Galloway, Scott (2017). The Four: The Hidden DNA of Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google. Random House Large Print. ISBN 978-0-525-50122-0.
69. ^ Schonfeld, Erick (May 31, 2011). "Eric Schmidt's Gang Of Four: Google, Apple, Amazon, And Facebook". TechCrunch. Archived from the original on May 30, 2019. Retrieved May 25, 2019.
70. ^ Beard, Alison (January 2022). "Can Big Tech Be Disrupted?". Harvard Business Review. Retrieved February 26, 2023.
71. ^ Zuboff, Shoshana (2019). The Age of Surveillance Capitalism: The Fight for a Human Future at the New Frontier of Power. Profile Books. ISBN 978-1-78125-685-5.
72. ^ Simon, Phil (October 22, 2011). The Age of the Platform: How Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google Have Redefined Business (1 ed.). Motion Publishing. p. 312\. ISBN 978-0-9829302-5-0.
73. ^ Galloway, Scott (2017). The Four: The Hidden DNA of Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google. Random House. ISBN 978-1-4735-4210-5.
74. ^ "Eric Schmidt's 'Gang Of Four' Doesn't Have Room for Microsoft". AllThingsD.
75. ^ "Eric Schmidt is stepping down as the executive chairman of Alphabet". CNBC. December 21, 2017.
76. ^ a b Waters, Richard (July 27, 2018). "Move over Faangs, make way for Maga". Financial Times. Retrieved November 18, 2018.
77. ^ a b c Stankiewicz, Kevin (October 29, 2021). "'Bye-bye FAANG, hello MAMAA'—Cramer reveals a new acronym after Facebook's name change". CNBC. Retrieved October 30, 2021.
78. ^ Subin, Samantha (October 29, 2021). "Microsoft passes Apple to become the world's most valuable company". CNBC. Retrieved March 15, 2023.
79. ^ "Fortune 500". Fortune. Retrieved November 17, 2022.
80. ^ Stevens, Pippa (April 26, 2019). "Four 'MAGA' stocks are worth a combined $4 trillion. Here's the one to own, say two experts". CNBC. Archived from the original on January 1, 2020. Retrieved January 27, 2020.
81. ^ "Move over FAANG, here comes MAGA – The tech giants are still in rude health". The Economist. August 4, 2018. Retrieved January 27, 2020.
82. ^ 김제림 (Kim Je-rim) (May 29, 2019). "'FAANG' 지고 'MAGA' 시대 온다" ["FAANG" is losing and "MAGA" is coming]. 매일경제 (in Korean). Retrieved January 27, 2020.
83. ^ Khan, Kim (December 22, 2021). "Defining 'tech stocks': GAMMA stocks dominate". Seeking Alpha.
84. ^ a b "Most Valuable Companies in the World – 2020". FXSSI – Forex Sentiment Board. Archived from the original on January 27, 2020. Retrieved January 27, 2020.
85. ^ Balu, Nivedita (January 3, 2022). "Apple becomes first company to hit $3 trillion market value, then slips". Reuters. Retrieved January 3, 2022.
86. ^ Singh, Hardika (March 22, 2023). "Apple, Microsoft Dominate U.S. Markets After FAANG Trade Fizzles". The Wall Street Journal. News Corp. Retrieved March 22, 2023.
87. ^ "Top Companies 2021: The 50 best workplaces to grow your career in the U.S." linkedin.com. Retrieved October 5, 2021.
88. ^ Bariso, Justin (May 30, 2021). "Life at Google vs. Life at Amazon: From Hiring to Firing (and Everything in Between)". Inc.com. Retrieved October 5, 2021.
89. ^ Jackson, Abby. "14 things that are harder to get into than Harvard". Business Insider. Retrieved April 3, 2022.
90. ^ Jason Paul Whittaker (February 11, 2019), "Introduction", Tech Giants, Artificial Intelligence, and the Future of Journalism (Open Access), Routledge
91. ^ a b Krauskopf, Lewis (December 29, 2023). "Can sizzling Magnificent Seven trade keep powering US stocks in 2024?". Reuters. Retrieved February 27, 2024.
92. ^ "The 'Magnificent Seven' tech stocks drive markets higher as AI mania grips investors". Yahoo Finance. May 30, 2023. Retrieved February 28, 2024.
93. ^ Russell, Karl; Rennison, Joe (January 22, 2024). "These Seven Tech Stocks Are Driving the Market". The New York Times. Retrieved February 27, 2024.
94. ^ Cingari, Piero. "Magnificent 7 Eye $13-Trillion Market Cap: 'They Are Sucking All The Air Out Of The Universe,' Wall Street Veteran Says". Benzingaglish. Retrieved February 28, 2024.
95. ^ Smith, Elliot (February 19, 2024). "Magnificent 7 profits now exceed almost every country in the world. Should we be worried?". CNBC. Retrieved February 19, 2024.
96. ^ Imbert, Fred (July 1, 2024). "Morgan Stanley says Magnificent Seven now make up 31% of the S&P 500". CNBC. Retrieved April 17, 2024.
97. ^ Iacurci, Greg (July 1, 2024). "Is the U.S. stock market too 'concentrated'? Here's what to know". CNBC. Retrieved July 1, 2024.
98. ^ Goswami, Rohan; Levy, Ari (August 5, 2024). "$1 trillion wipeout: Market rout punishes megacap tech". CNBC. Retrieved August 5, 2024.
99. ^ "What are the Four Big Tech Companies in the US?". WorldAtlas. October 24, 2019. Retrieved January 27, 2020.
100. ^ a b Brodie, Lee (February 5, 2013). "Cramer: Does Your Portfolio Have FANGs?". CNBC. Retrieved November 9, 2021.
101. ^ Grant, Kinsey (September 26, 2017). "FANG Stocks Are Getting Their Own Index". The Street.
102. ^ Frankel, Matthew (September 29, 2017). "What Are the FANG Stocks?". Motley Fool. Retrieved August 11, 2018.
103. ^ Gurdus, Lizzy (May 1, 2017). "Cramer: Disney, Apple and the fate of FANG". CNBC. Retrieved November 9, 2021.
104. ^ Mann, Bill (November 5, 2021). "FAANG is Dead. Long Live MANAMANA". The Motley Fool. Retrieved April 22, 2022.
105. ^ Sterling, Bruce (March 15, 2019). "The Big Nine G-MAFIA BAT". Wired. Retrieved August 10, 2019.
106. ^ Grossman, Wendy M. "The Twenty-Six Words that Created the Internet, book review: The biography of a law". ZDNet. Retrieved September 4, 2020.
107. ^ Dippon, Christian (2017). Economic Value of Internet Intermediaries and the Role of Liability Protections (PDF) (Report). NERA Economic Consulting. Retrieved May 30, 2020 – via Internet Association.
108. ^ Robertson, Adi (February 8, 2021). "Section 230 Is 25 Years Old, And It's Never Been More Important". The Verge. Retrieved November 20, 2021.
109. ^ a b c Madrigal, Alexis C. (January 15, 2020). "Silicon Valley Abandons the Culture That Made It the Envy of the World". The Atlantic. Retrieved December 20, 2023.
110. ^ Molla, Rani (April 9, 2018). "Amazon spent nearly $23 billion on R&D last year—more than any other U.S. company". Vox. Retrieved September 29, 2021.
111. ^ "'It's just the beginning': Covid push to digital boosts big tech profits". The Guardian. May 1, 2021. Retrieved October 24, 2021.
112. ^ "Why tech industry monopolies could be a 'curse' for society". PBS NewsHour. January 17, 2019. Retrieved September 29, 2021.
113. ^ Wu, Tim (July 16, 2019). "Where New Industries Get Their Start: Rebooting the Startup Economy" (PDF). House of Representatives. Archived (PDF) from the original on December 21, 2019.
114. ^ Kennedy, Joe (November 9, 2020). "Monopoly Myths: Is Big Tech Creating 'Kill Zones'?".
115. ^ Haroun, Chris (April 10, 2014). "Fighting the Big Fight: What the Cloud Wars Mean for Netflix, Spotify, Airbnb". Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. Retrieved November 24, 2021.
116. ^ "Tech giants fight 'cloud wars' deep in the ocean". BBC News. May 24, 2021. Retrieved November 24, 2021.
117. ^ Apple, Google and a Deal That Controls the Internet The New York Times, 2020
118. ^ "The rules of the tech game are changing". The Economist. February 27, 2021. ISSN 0013-0613. Retrieved September 29, 2021.
119. ^ Horgan, John (October 7, 2020). "Big Tech, Out-of-Control Capitalism and the End of Civilization". Scientific American. Archived from the original on October 8, 2020. Retrieved January 6, 2022.
120. ^ a b Kingwell, Mark (January 7, 2022). "Opinion: Might the left and right unite in their shared hatred of Big Tech?". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved March 5, 2022.
121. ^ Manjoo, Farhad (May 19, 2022). "Regulating Online Speech Can Be a Terrible Idea". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved May 19, 2022.
122. ^ Thayer, Joel (February 28, 2022). "The damnable religious inklings of the Big Tech libertarian". The Hill. Retrieved June 12, 2022.
123. ^ Pisani, Bob (October 3, 2017). "We are letting Amazon and Apple 'avoid taxes, invade privacy, and destroy jobs,' says NYU professor". CNBC.
124. ^ Torres, Émile P (June 15, 2023). "The Acronym Behind Our Wildest AI Dreams and Nightmares". TruthDig. Retrieved October 1, 2023.
125. ^ Troy, Dave (May 1, 2023). "The Wide Angle: Understanding TESCREAL — the Weird Ideologies Behind Silicon Valley's Rightward Turn". The Washington Spectator. Archived from the original on June 6, 2023. Retrieved October 1, 2023.
126. ^ Ahuja, Anjana (May 10, 2023). "We need to examine the beliefs of today's tech luminaries". Financial Times. Archived from the original on December 11, 2023. Retrieved October 1, 2023.
127. ^ Gebru, Timnit; Torres, Émile P. (April 14, 2024). "The TESCREAL bundle: Eugenics and the promise of utopia through artificial general intelligence". First Monday. 29 (4). doi:10.5210/fm.v29i4.13636. ISSN 1396-0466.
128. ^ Thomas, Alexander (2024). "Systemic Dehumanization". The Politics and Ethics of Transhumanism. Techno-Human Evolution and Advanced Capitalism (1 ed.). Bristol University Press. pp. 159–194\. doi:10.2307/jj.14284473.9. ISBN 978-1-5292-3964-5. JSTOR jj.14284473.9.
129. ^ Stross, Charles (December 20, 2023). "Tech Billionaires Need to Stop Trying to Make the Science Fiction They Grew Up on Real". Scientific American. Archived from the original on June 26, 2024. Retrieved June 27, 2024.
130. ^ a b Fung, Brian (October 21, 2024). "How Republicans pushed social media companies to stop fighting election misinformation". CNN. Retrieved May 13, 2025.
131. ^ a b Izaguirre, Anthony (March 7, 2021). "GOP Pushes Bills to Allow Social Media 'Censorship' Lawsuits". NBC Chicago. Archived from the original on December 19, 2021. Retrieved December 25, 2024. "Researchers have not found widespread evidence that social media companies are biased against conservative news, posts or materials."
132. ^ McCullagh, Declan (February 2019). "Deplatforming Is a Dangerous Game". Reason. Archived from the original on March 31, 2019.
133. ^ "Analysis | The Technology 202: New report calls conservative claims of social media censorship 'a form of disinformation'". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved August 28, 2021.
134. ^ "Tech – Bias Report 2021". NYU Stern Center for Business and Human Rights. Retrieved August 28, 2021.
135. ^ Frenkel, Sheera (November 17, 2024). "Liberals Are Left Out in the Cold as Social Media Veers Right". The New York Times. Retrieved May 13, 2025.
136. ^ Reilly, Liam (November 18, 2024). "Nearly 40% of young Americans get their news from influencers. Many of them lean to the right, study finds". CNN. Archived from the original on November 19, 2024. Retrieved November 21, 2024.
137. ^ "Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Google grilled on Capitol Hill over their market power". Washington Post. July 29, 2020. Retrieved August 28, 2021.
138. ^ Breland, Ali. "In attacking Amazon, Matt Gaetz boosts a terrorist organization". Mother Jones. Retrieved August 28, 2021.
139. ^ "Trump Blames 'Big Media, Big Tech' as he Rails Against Election 'Fraud' Without Evidence". Washington Times. November 5, 2020. Retrieved January 12, 2021.
140. ^ "This is what Trump told supporters before many stormed Capitol Hill". ABC News. Retrieved January 10, 2021. "The fake news and the big tech, big tech, is now coming into their own. We beat them four years ago, we surprised them. We took him by surprise and this year they rigged an election, they rigged it like they have never rigged an election before, and by the way, last night, they didn't do a bad job either, if you notice. I am honest, and I just again, I want to thank you. It's just a great honor to have this kind of crowd and to be before you and hundreds of thousands of American patriots who are committed to the honesty of our elections and the integrity of our glorious Republic."
141. ^ "Angela Merkel finds Twitter's block on Trump's account 'problematic'". The Daily Telegraph. Agence France-Presse. January 11, 2021. Retrieved January 12, 2021.
142. ^ "'Problematic': Germany's Angela Merkel calls out Twitter over Trump ban". Global News. January 11, 2021. Retrieved January 12, 2021.
143. ^ Tiffany, Kaitlyn (April 28, 2022). "Why Hunter Biden's Laptop Will Never Go Away". The Atlantic. Retrieved June 2, 2022.
144. ^ "Hunter Biden laptop confirmation proves Big Tech's bias". Washington Examiner. May 31, 2022. Retrieved June 2, 2022.
145. ^ Justin Baragona, Adam Rawnsley (June 28, 2021). "YouTube Bans and Then Unbans Right Wing Watch, a Media Watchdog Devoted to Exposing Right-Wing Conspiracies". The Daily Beast. Retrieved November 11, 2021.
146. ^ a b "Big Tech's Heavy Hand Around the Globe". Human Rights Watch. September 8, 2020. Retrieved September 29, 2021.
147. ^ Warren, Elizabeth (March 8, 2019). "Here's how we can break up Big Tech". Medium. Retrieved February 13, 2025.
148. ^ Kelly, Makena (March 11, 2019). "Facebook proves Elizabeth Warren's point by deleting her ads about breaking up Facebook". The Verge. Retrieved November 11, 2021.
149. ^ Feiner, Lauren (March 12, 2019). "Elizabeth Warren says Facebook proved her point that it has too much power by removing her ads". CNBC. Retrieved November 11, 2021.
150. ^ Yun Chee, Foo (January 20, 2025). "Facebook, X, YouTube to do more against online hate speech, EU says". Reuters. Retrieved January 21, 2025.
151. ^ Seetharaman, Deepa (November 15, 2018). "Facebook Says Criticism of Its Russia Response Is 'Unfair'". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved August 6, 2021.
152. ^ Illing, Sean (October 16, 2017). "Cambridge Analytica, the shady data firm that might be a key Trump-Russia link, explained". Vox. Retrieved August 6, 2021.
153. ^ Wells, Georgia; McMillan, Robert; Volz, Dustin (October 8, 2019). "Senate Faults Google, Other Tech Giants for Role in Russian Election Meddling". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved August 6, 2021.
154. ^ a b Roose, Kevin; Frenkel, Sheera; Perlroth, Nicole (March 29, 2020). "Tech Giants Prepared for 2016-Style Meddling. But the Threat Has Changed". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved August 6, 2021.
155. ^ "YouTube says it's getting better at taking down videos that break its rules. They still number in the millions". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved August 6, 2021.
156. ^ Bond, Shannon (March 16, 2021). "'Ya Basta Facebook' Says Company Must Curb Misinformation In Spanish". NPR.org. Retrieved August 6, 2021.
157. ^ "Just 12 People Are Behind Most Vaccine Hoaxes On Social Media, Research Shows". NPR.org. Retrieved August 6, 2021.
158. ^ "E&C Committee Announces Hearing with Tech CEOs on the Misinformation and Disinformation Plaguing Online Platforms". Democrats, Energy and Commerce Committee. February 18, 2021. Archived from the original on April 18, 2022. Retrieved August 6, 2021.
159. ^ "Google, Facebook Twitter grilled in US on fake news". BBC News. March 25, 2021. Retrieved August 6, 2021.
160. ^ "Biden softens criticism of Facebook after accusing company of 'killing people'". NBC News. July 19, 2021. Retrieved August 6, 2021.
161. ^ Silverman, Jacob; Noah, Timothy; Noah, Timothy; Ford, Matt; Ford, Matt; Segers, Grace; Segers, Grace; Konczal, Mike; Sterling, Steph (July 19, 2021). "Facebook Is Designed to Spread Covid Misinformation". The New Republic. ISSN 0028-6583. Retrieved August 6, 2021.
162. ^ "Defying rules, anti-vaccine accounts thrive on social media". AP NEWS. April 20, 2021. Retrieved August 6, 2021.
163. ^ a b "Apple, Google raise new concerns by yanking Russian app". AP NEWS. September 22, 2021. Retrieved September 29, 2021.
164. ^ a b Leskin, Paige. "Here are all the major US tech companies blocked behind China's 'Great Firewall'". Business Insider. Retrieved September 29, 2021.
165. ^ "Farmers' protest page was flagged as spam, clarifies Facebook a day after blocking account". Scroll.in. December 21, 2020. Retrieved December 5, 2021.
166. ^ Singh, Karan Deep (February 10, 2021). "Twitter Blocks Accounts in India as Modi Pressures Social Media". New York Times. Retrieved December 5, 2021.
167. ^ "Facebook did not ban Bajrang Dal due to concern for employees' safety, business prospects: Report". Scroll.in. December 14, 2020. Retrieved December 5, 2021.
168. ^ "Russia blocks access to Facebook and Twitter". The Guardian. March 4, 2022. Retrieved March 6, 2022.
169. ^ "Russia labels Meta an 'extremist organization', says WhatsApp can stay". Financial Post. March 21, 2022.
170. ^ "Facebook, Google others face higher fines in Russia as Kremlin cracks down". South China Morning Post. September 21, 2021. Retrieved September 29, 2021.
171. ^ "Supply Change - Climate commitments and renewable energy progress by consumer electronics brands and their top suppliers" (PDF). Greenpeace / Stand.earth. 2022.
172. ^ Calma, Justine (October 16, 2023). "Apple has an edge over its competitors in the fight against climate change". The Verge. Retrieved April 24, 2024.
173. ^ Hale, Craig (July 15, 2024). "Google and Microsoft now each consume more power than some fairly big countries". TechRadar.
174. ^ Bougon, François (May 21, 2019). "Face aux Gafam, les députés adoptent le droit voisin" [Members of Parliament pass a related rights law against GAFAM] (in French). Le Monde. Archived from the original on May 25, 2019. Retrieved May 26, 2019.
175. ^ Rey, Jason Del (February 6, 2020). "Why Congress's antitrust investigation should make Big Tech nervous". Vox. Retrieved February 21, 2020.
176. ^ PYMNTS (December 11, 2019). "DOJ To Wrap Up Probe Into Big Tech In 2020". PYMNTS.com. Retrieved February 21, 2020.
177. ^ GmbH, finanzen net. "The DOJ's latest probe erased $33 billion from Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google | Markets Insider". markets.businessinsider.com. Archived from the original on November 27, 2021. Retrieved February 21, 2020.
178. ^ "Is Margrethe Vestager championing consumers or her political career?". The Economist. September 14, 2017. Retrieved June 26, 2020.
179. ^ Boskin, Michael (April 29, 2019), "Privacy, power and censorship: how to regulate big tech", The Guardian
180. ^ Naughton, John (February 17, 2019). "It's almost impossible to function without the big five tech giants". The Guardian. Retrieved April 23, 2021.
181. ^ "Why the Consumer Welfare Standard Should Remain the Bedrock of Antitrust Policy" (PDF). Information Technology & Innovation Foundation. October 5, 2018.
182. ^ "Investment Heroes 2019: Boosting U.S. Growth". Progressive Policy. December 12, 2019. Archived from the original on June 21, 2020. Retrieved June 12, 2020.
183. ^ PAGE, William; CHILDERS, Seldon (2007). Software Development as an Antitrust Remedy: Lessons from the Enforcement of the Microsoft Communications Protocol Licensing Requirement. Retrieved September 26, 2022.
184. ^ "FTC to Examine Past Acquisitions by Large Technology Companies". Federal Trade Commission. February 11, 2020.
185. ^ "FTC's Bureau of Competition Launches Task Force to Monitor Technology Markets". Federal Trade Commission. February 26, 2019.
186. ^ Yglesias, Matthew (May 3, 2019), The push to break up Big Tech, explained
187. ^ Cox, Kate (January 9, 2021). "House: Amazon, Facebook, Apple, Google have 'monopoly power,' should be split". Ars Technica. Retrieved January 9, 2021.
188. ^ Investigation of Competition in Digital Markets (PDF) (Report). United States House of Representatives. January 2021.
189. ^ Chairman Nadler's Statement for the markup of H.R.3825 (Report). United States House of Representatives. June 2021.
190. ^ How lower pricing could make for an Antitrust case against Amazon (Report). May 2019.
191. ^ Breuninger, Kevin; Feiner, Lauren (July 9, 2021). "Biden signs order to crack down on Big Tech, boost competition 'across the board'". CNBC. Retrieved July 9, 2021.
192. ^ Sullivan, Kate; Fung, Brian; Klein, Betsy (July 9, 2021). "Biden signs sweeping executive order that targets Big Tech and aims to push competition in US economy". CNN. Retrieved July 9, 2021.
193. ^ McCabe, David (June 5, 2024). "U.S. Clears Way for Antitrust Inquiries of Nvidia, Microsoft and OpenAI". The New York Times. Retrieved June 6, 2024.
194. ^ Field, Hayden; Javers, Eamon (June 6, 2024). "U.S. regulators to open antitrust probes into Nvidia, Microsoft and OpenAI". CNBC. Retrieved June 6, 2024.
195. ^ a b Goswami, Rohan; Elias, Jennifer (August 5, 2024). "Google loses antitrust case over search". CNBC. Retrieved August 5, 2024.
196. ^ Kruppa, Miles; Wolfe, Jan (August 5, 2024). "Google Loses Antitrust Case Over Search-Engine Dominance". The Wall Street Journal. News Corp. Retrieved August 5, 2024.
197. ^ a b Liedtke, Michael (April 17, 2025). "Google's digital ad network declared an illegal monopoly, joining its search engine in penalty box". Associated Press. Retrieved April 17, 2025.
198. ^ Elias, Jennifer (April 17, 2025). "Google hit with second antitrust blow, adding to concerns about future of ads business". CNBC. Retrieved April 18, 2025.
199. ^ The Verge, June 16, 2020 EU Opens Apple Antitrust Investigations into App Store and Apple Pay practices
200. ^ Open Markets Institute, The Corner Newsletter, June 25, 2020, Open Markets Examines the European Commission's Newly Announced Investigation into Potentially Anti-competitive Practices by Apple
201. ^ Parliament of the European Union, Hearing of Margrethe Vestager 8 Oct. 2019 p. 28
202. ^ Bose, Nandita (September 23, 2021). "EXCLUSIVE Big Tech targeted by U.S. and EU in draft memo ahead of tech and trade meeting". Reuters. Retrieved September 29, 2021.
203. ^ Satariano, Adam (March 24, 2022). "E.U. Takes Aim at Big Tech's Power With Landmark Digital Act". The New York Times. Retrieved March 24, 2022.
204. ^ Bell, Karissa (March 24, 2022). "European Union reaches provisional agreement on antitrust law targeting tech giants". Engadget. Retrieved March 24, 2022.
205. ^ Browne, Ryan (April 22, 2022). "EU agrees on landmark law aimed at forcing Big Tech firms to tackle illegal content". CNBC. Retrieved April 22, 2022.
206. ^ Chee, Foo Yun (July 5, 2022). "EU lawmakers pass landmark tech rules, but enforcement a worry". Reuters. Retrieved July 5, 2022.
207. ^ Holt, Kris (September 7, 2023). "EU confirms the six tech giants subject to its strict new competition laws". Engadget.
208. ^ Yun Chee, Foo (June 24, 2024). "Apple charged with breaching EU tech rules, faces another probe". Reuters. Retrieved June 24, 2024.
209. ^ Freelon, Deen; Marwick, Alice; Kreiss, Daniel (September 4, 2020). "False equivalencies: Online activism from left to right". Science. 369 (6508): 1197–1201\. Bibcode:2020Sci...369.1197F. doi:10.1126/science.abb2428. ISSN 0036-8075. PMID 32883863. S2CID 221471947. Archived from the original on September 4, 2020. Retrieved September 5, 2020. (freely available version)
210. ^ Andrews, Frank; Pym, Ambrose (February 24, 2021). "The Websites Sustaining Britain's Far-Right Influencers". Bellingcat. Archived from the original on February 24, 2021. Retrieved February 25, 2021.
211. ^ "Definition of fediverse". PCMAG. Retrieved April 3, 2024.
212. ^ Mak, Aaron (November 9, 2021). "What Is Web3 and Why Are All the Crypto People Suddenly Talking About It?". Slate. Archived from the original on November 9, 2021. Retrieved November 9, 2021.
213. ^ "Exclusive: "Little Tech" launches new policy coalition". April 2, 2025.
214. ^ "VC money is fueling a global boom in worker surveillance tech".

## External links

[edit]

Wikiquote has quotations related to Big Tech.

* How Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Google manipulate our emotions – Scott Galloway at TED
* "United States of Secrets (Part Two): Privacy Lost". Frontline. Season 32. Episode 10. May 20, 2014. PBS. WGBH. Retrieved April 8, 2025.
* "The Facebook Dilemma". Frontline. Season 37. Episode 4–5\. October 29–30, 2018. PBS. WGBH. Retrieved November 10, 2022.4–5&rft.date=2018-10-29/2018-10-30&rft_id=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/documentary/facebook-dilemma/&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:Big+Tech" class="Z3988">
* "In the Age of AI". Frontline. Season 38. Episode 6. November 5, 2019. PBS. WGBH. Retrieved June 4, 2023.
* "Amazon Empire: The Rise and Reign of Jeff Bezos". Frontline. Season 38. Episode 13. February 18, 2020. PBS. WGBH. Retrieved November 21, 2022.
* "Elon Musk's Twitter Takeover". Frontline. Season 42. Episode 17. October 10, 2023. PBS. WGBH. Retrieved April 27, 2025.