The Monopolization of the Internet
Monopoly (noun): the exclusive possession or control of the supply of or trade in a commodity or service. (Oxford Dictionary)
A hot button issue has brewed over the past few years regarding the internet and the digital media market as a whole. And that topic comes down to the monopolization of the internet. Ever since the internet has started to become a part of the mainstream we see more and more everyday the vast market control that companies like Amazon, Apple, and Google can create. The internet feels as if it is no longer a free market with websites competing with each other in healthy ways. The internet is slowly becoming a piece of content that is being absorbed and sucked up by these massive companies that want full control over any piece of the pie they can get.
A problem I see though is that not enough people are in talks regarding these issues of monopolization, the average consumer just uses the easiest product and tool given to them and continues to do so. Most people aren’t seeing the big picture issue in regards to the issues that comes from monopolization. Quite recently as of September 15th 2020, Google is testifying with Congress yet again over what many can widely consider a monopolization over online advertising. Why exactly is this an issue? You may think advertisements are annoying and or a bad thing. Ultimately though, ads provide the internet as a service with multiple free websites, ads can help pay for sites upkeep or even give individuals on websites on YouTube revenue from said ads. The problem with Google’s monopoly over ads though is ultimately the fact that with this there is no competition for ads to run. Google has too much power over how ads are placed and how the ads are sold. “Google has too much power over online advertising because it controls both the infrastructure for selling ads and some of the main platforms on which they’re placed.” The article Google returns to the hot seat on antitrust as Justice Department case looms states. We could have a case were a small website is unable to purchase ads from Google and is unable to place those ads on their site. With a lack of other internet companies able to provide ads to the site, upkeep can ultimately be shattered completely, the site might not last long. Someone’s passion can be taken away immediately from them or potentially someones living due to Google’s complete control over the ad-space market.
Amazon isn’t free from criticism as well. Amazon has had much criticism throughout the years but with the topics of monopolies becoming more and more prevalent Amazon is in the hot seat for how it sells its products, especially with its Amazon Alexa product. While Amazon Alexa may arguably be a beneficial product, there are the problems that Amazon holds such a strong stranglehold over the “voice assistant” market that they could easily abuse. A product that is better could potentially come along but Amazon could stifle that product because they are the bigger company. Voice assistants as well are problematic due to the security issues they raise. In the article linked above, it states that voice assistants could potentially collect information about habits. Big tech like Amazon could misuse this information. Companies like Amazon can “favor preferred services and limit interoperability” Which in turn can make it difficult to buy another companies product. Couldn’t there be such a risk from Amazon collecting data to limit what an individual could purchase in the world of voice assistants? If companies like Amazon aren’t contained there won’t be any real market for a smart home system as Amazon can take that control as far as they want if they go unchecked.
Monopolies as a whole are an issue for not just consumers but for the working class as well. The US Government sort of hands off approach from big tech has been very unnerving as more and more companies are taking the reigns and controlling and dominating the market spaces they are in. Google with its control over ads and search engines, Facebook with its social-media giant, Apple with the stranglehold over the tech industry, and Amazon with its immense power in its online shopping sector of the internet. Left unchecked these companies can prove to be a problem much like back during the big oil tycoon days. The internet is such a vast and wide place that offers much to be offered and much to be learned everyday, the massive control that these big tech companies have over the internet needs to be put in place. The purpose of the internet is to provide a large and vast sort of free space where individuals can use it to generally do whatever they please. Without healthy competition in place there is a lack of versatility over the internet. It’s hard to find a place that is even comparable to Amazon in terms of its scale. Its hard to find a search engine that replaces Google as a whole. There is also grounds in place to show that monopolies do play a role in income inequality. There is grounds that a monopoly can weaken workers ability to bargain. And I believe most importantly slows the rate of progress and innovation we could be making. Allowing more companies to compete is a good thing, allowing them to go out of their niche little bubble is fantastic, we could have a market where there is loads of innovation in things like online shopping or search engines or even social media but sadly the big tech companies get rid of that entirely.
Ultimately I think people as a whole should see the big picture around the services they are provided and see that, while yes, they are convenient they are ultimately problematic to the development of the internet and digital media as a whole. Like I said previously, the internet thrives off creativity and innovation, and with these big companies taking a hold there is little to no room to innovate on something. These big companies are essentially taking the place of the Standard Oil company. Who monopolized oil aggressively. We know the history of mass monopolization and why it’s dangerous, so why are we so unconcerned about history repeating itself?
