What is Big Tech?

Big Tech refers to the biggest information technology (IT) companies in the United States – Meta (formerly known as Facebook), Apple, Alphabet (Google), and Amazon. Depending on the source, Microsoft may also be featured on the Big Tech list.

Big Tech companies are some of the best-known brands in the world, attracting investors, researchers, and prospective industry professionals alike. The market capitalization of the companies ranges between $650 billion and $2.8 trillion. Each company operates in various sectors and provides a high-tech hub for digital activities and services.

The Big Tech corporations hold the monopoly of their respective fields. Alphabet’s Google is the widest-used search engine in the world, Amazon offers the biggest eCommerce service, while social media platforms and services like Instagram, WhatsApp, and Facebook all rest under Meta’s wing.

Products and services offered by the Big Tech companies are acquired from new and emerging markets. It’s not uncommon for big companies to invest in smaller-scale products that experience significant market growth.

They can also increase their scope throughout different sectors. Amazon offers video-on-demand streaming services and owns the live streaming platform Twitch. Google provides additional services like cloud storage, email, and video sharing. In October 2021, Meta announced investments in metaverse development.

Given the global reach of the Big Tech companies, they have had a massive impact on technological development and user experience. The services of these companies are relied upon by companies and individuals on a daily basis.

The global influence and dominance of these companies are seen as concerning by some due to the high vertical distance between their competitors. The Big Tech companies have been under scrutiny for their business practices, alleged attempts to acquire and eliminate market competitors, and employee mistreatment.

Amazon has been particularly criticized for workers’ conditions and union-busting attempts. The company’s safety conditions were brought into question after six workers were killed in an Amazon warehouse during a tornado in late 2021.

The company is also alleged to acquire smaller publishing companies and bookstores to monopolize its physical, e-book, and audiobook services.

In February 2022, it was announced that Amazon was shutting down Westland, one of the biggest English-language publishing companies in India, five years after its acquisition. The decision was highly criticized as an attempt to squash competition.

Apple devices have been heavily criticized for slowing down the operational system of older models after a release of a new update. The company has been also accused of planned obsolescence. In 2017, Apple confirmed that older hardware was being slowed down deliberately.

Furthermore, there have been concerns about materials used in the structure of Apple’s wireless earphones, AirPods, as they are non-recyclable and the battery cannot be replaced after it dies. Critics have pointed out that this is unsustainable and speculated that it was employed as a strategy to promote consumerism.

Similar to Amazon, Facebook has been brought into question regarding its acquisition of social media platforms Instagram and WhatsApp and whether it was an attempt to counteract them as potential market competitors.

In October 2021, a whistleblower revealed that Facebook had a direct influence on the 2016 presidential election in the US by allowing misinformation, hate speech, and toxic content to remain on the platform. The influence that an IT corporation of this scale can have on world politics was noted as a major concern.

Blockchain technology is seen by some companies as a potential competitive force against the monopoly of Big Tech corporations.

Market competitors are working on developing blockchain-based decentralized applications and services in finance, social media, entertainment, and other sectors where the Big Tech corporations are prominent.

However, Big Tech companies have also shown interest in blockchain technology, like cryptocurrencies, non-fungible tokens (NFTs), and virtual spaces (metaverses).