How did big tech get so much power over the internet? Did they buy it? Did they just take it? How?
"Big Tech" isn't any different from any other large accumulation of capital in American history. In general, they are companies that created a product which revolutionized the market, or created a new one, or displaced the existing market leader, etc etc. There isn't anything special about it, for the most part:
- Google created the best search algorithm and became the most powerful corporate entity in the world. From there, they gathered the most traffic, sold the most ads, hired the best people, and created the best products to offer along with search and ads
- Facebook created the most popular social network
- Twitter came up with an idea perfectly suited for our short attention span lifestyles and text message culture
- Netflix created the first viable digital media streaming platform and disrupted the established media landscape, finally breaking the monopoly grip of the cable and satellite providers and making cord cutting viable
- Amazon defined the online retail experience and ruthlessly drove down prices while increasing customer expectations in terms of service. Then, almost by accident, they basically invented cloud computing when they realized they could sell their internal virtualization project as a service; AWS started life as an internal project to streamline their own hosting efforts and is now one of their core businesses
- Microsoft started in the seventies and eighties providing operating systems. Their big break came when they provided DOS for the IBM PC, which grew into Windows as we know it today (a very long story which I am happy to tell if anyone wants to hear it). But in the twenty first century, Microsoft has reinvented itself; long gone are the days of Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer with their paranoia and FUD. Microsoft is a savvy, modern competitor, eagerly participating in the open source world, happy to distribute its development tools, and selling time on its Azure cloud services
- Apple is a cult. No, really, they are. I use that word descriptively, not pejoratively. The Apple way of doing things is a way of life for millions of people, and they are willing to pay extra for the privilege. They'll tell you all about how much they love it, get excited about the next version of it, wait in long lines for it, etc. That's their business model: Apple stuff works a certain way, it always works and it never breaks, and if it does break, they will fix it and say they're sorry. But you have to buy a new one when they tell you it's time, you have to pay more for it, and it only works with other Apple stuff, so you have to be all-in on the idea. Thus is Apple a trillion dollar company
So, there's nothing magical about "Big Tech". Like "Big Oil" or "The Big Three" auto makers or "The Big Banks" or any other group of powerful moneyed interests, they are accomplished capitalists; nothing more, nothing less. And at this point in human history, their products are critical to the function of human society, giving them disproportionate power over our lives.