Difference between revisions of "The Big Four"
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| − | The “Big Four” – also known as “The Four” | + | The “Big Four” – also known as “The Four” <ref name='The Four'>Galloway, Scott. ''The Four: The Hidden DNA of Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google'', Random House, 3 October 2017</ref>, “GAFA” (citation), or “The Four Horsemen” (citation) – is an acronym for [[Wikipedia: Google|Google]] ([[Wikipedia: Alphabet Inc.|Alphabet]]), [[Wikipedia: Apple|Apple]], [[Wikipedia: Facebook|Facebook]], and [[Wikipedia: Amazon (company)|Amazon]]. These four have been separated from other big tech companies on the basis of one characteristic: their ability to influence and power societal change and consumer behavior through their oligopolization of online activity. As former Google CEO [[Wikipedia: Eric Schmidt|Eric Schmidt]] has said, they “[drive] the consumer revolution in the minds of the consumer”.<ref>The Wall Street Journal. "The New Online Wars", 8 June 2011, https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702303657404576362861950356484</ref> However, this immense power has so far gone without regulation, leaving the Big Four as de facto market regulators (Pasquale 2017). As their size and market dominance continues to grow, the accusation of the Big Four’s violation of antitrust laws have become international concern |
== Who are "The Big Four"? == | == Who are "The Big Four"? == | ||
Revision as of 13:17, 12 March 2021
The “Big Four” – also known as “The Four” [1], “GAFA” (citation), or “The Four Horsemen” (citation) – is an acronym for Google (Alphabet), Apple, Facebook, and Amazon. These four have been separated from other big tech companies on the basis of one characteristic: their ability to influence and power societal change and consumer behavior through their oligopolization of online activity. As former Google CEO Eric Schmidt has said, they “[drive] the consumer revolution in the minds of the consumer”.[2] However, this immense power has so far gone without regulation, leaving the Big Four as de facto market regulators (Pasquale 2017). As their size and market dominance continues to grow, the accusation of the Big Four’s violation of antitrust laws have become international concern
Contents
Who are "The Big Four"?
Run by parent company Alphabet, Google plays to the “head” or “brain” of human beings (the Four citation). With monopolization of search and digital advertising, Google has caught itself in several lawsuits regarding their anti-competitive conduct and promotion of Google’s own products in search results over independent competitors. Despite $9 billion in fines, legal action has done little to influence Google’s business practices or market position.[3]
Apple
Utilizing popular consumer behavior of making irrational decisions, Apple plays on “procreation” (the Four citation). As the most profitable company in history, Apple’s profits are greater than the combined profits of Google, Facebook, and Amazon (the Four citation).
Facebook plays to the “heart” by tapping into the human desire to love and be loved by others (mostly through the use of images and previous relationships that create empathy and expand individual’s circle of love) (the four citation). Facebook monopolizes social networking. According to mobile intelligence firm Apptopia, Facebook owns four of the top 10 most downloaded apps of 2020: WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook, and Messenger.[4]
Amazon
As the leader in e-commerce with 50% of all online sales going through Amazon, the platform plays to the gut or “large intestine” of humans (the Four citation). Individuals are biologically programmed to survive, and thus the idea that less is bad and more is always better (the four citation). Their monopolization of e-commerce makes it near impossible for independent merchants to compete with the company.[5]
Ethical Concerns: Antitrust
As international governments struggle to regulate these multinational corporations, the Big Four face many antitrust allegations. Antitrust is legislation that prevents or controls trusts and other monopolies from dominating the market in efforts to promote competition in business.[6]
Anti-competitive Practices
GAFA has been accused of anti-competitive misconduct that has allowed them to dominate the market and deter potential competitors.[7] Their increasing usage of big data and machine learning in business practices have allowed GAFA to lock in users and reinforce network effects.[8] In turn, this has deterred market entry as competitors fear GAFA’s market dominance or are bought-out by GAFA before they have the chance to become a real competitor.[8]
Big Data & Privacy Violation
Like much of big tech, GAFA utilizes its user’s data and private information to predict trends, sculpt user behavior, influence public perceptions, and financial profit from selling this data to third parties. As predicted by French theorist Jean-Francois Lyotard, the commercialization of knowledge causes shifts in how knowledge and information are valued, and shapes social, political, and economic behaviors of society (Lyotard, 2004; Prainsack). The result of this data manipulation is a digital divide between those (GAFA and big tech) who capitalize on data and the users who provide the data (Prainsack; boyd & crawford).
However, some believe that because GAFA has designed the infrastructures and tools that make data usable, they hold the “moral right to profit from data” (B. Prainsack).
References
- ↑ Galloway, Scott. The Four: The Hidden DNA of Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google, Random House, 3 October 2017
- ↑ The Wall Street Journal. "The New Online Wars", 8 June 2011, https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702303657404576362861950356484
- ↑ Schechner, Sam & Pop, Valentina. "Europe's Antitrust Push Against Google Hasn't Dented Its Heft. Can the U.S.?", The Wall Street Journal, 21 October 2020, https://www.wsj.com/articles/europes-antitrust-push-against-google-hasnt-dented-its-heft-can-the-u-s-11603293443
- ↑ Blacker, Adam. "Worldwide & US Download Leaders 2020", Apptopia, 7 January 2021, https://blog.apptopia.com/worldwide-us-download-leaders-2020
- ↑ King, Cecilia & McCave, David. "House Lawmakers Condemn Big Tech's 'Monopoly Power' and Urge Their Breakups", The New York Times, 6 October 2020, https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/06/technology/congress-big-tech-monopoly-power.html
- ↑ Merrium-Webster. "Antitrust", n.d., https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/antitrust
- ↑ Federal Trade Commission. "FTC Sues Facebook for Illegal Monopolization", 9 December 2020, https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/press-releases/2020/12/ftc-sues-facebook-illegal-monopolization
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Barise, T.P. & Watkins, L. "The Evolution of Digital Dominance: How and Why We Got to GAFA", Digital Dominance, 2018
