Five companies that are more influential than you think

By: Anna Cave

Our vast digital society is controlled by so few.

Technology permeates our lives in fundamental ways. If you want to actively participate in our digital society, you have to be plugged into a plethora of applications. The scary side of this digital revolution is that we don’t see all the activity these big tech companies do behind the scenes. Big tech refers to the major technology companies that have excessive influence on how we go about our daily lives. 

The five major tech companies, called the ‘Big Five,’ control most of the internet. You may have heard of them: Amazon, Google, Facebook, Microsoft, and Apple.

It’s easy to see how these companies interact with us on the surface. Most of us prefer Amazon when it comes to shopping online, and we’ll hit Whole Foods occasionally. 

We’ll be honest, Google is pretty vast. Google Drive contains the programs necessary for group projects, and Google operates most of our emails and calendars. Of course there’s the search function, but that’s it, right?

Facebook has been through the ringer when it comes to controversy, so we know what to expect. Obviously, Facebook owns Instagram, but that’s pretty much the company’s extent of power. 

Microsoft has been overpowered by Google Drive. The company only stays in business because of the professors who still refuse to accept Google Docs on Moodle.

Apple leads hardware through its iPhones and Mac lap- and desktops. Apple Music remains a close second to Spotify, and Apple TV has its place in the world of streaming, but besides the actual hardware and built in software, Apple can’t control that much.

All of these assumptions proved wrong when Kashmir Hill, a New York Times Tech reporter, took it into her own hands to investigate just how powerful these Big Five really are. With the help of technologist Dhruv Mehrotra, Hill built a program to gradually block any interaction with those companies over the course of six weeks to test the possibility of to cutting them out of her life. 

She found the companies had more power than she ever could have imagined. Microsoft, which seems limited to the Office Suite, controlled the entertainment system in her car. Calling an Uber or Lyft was an impossible task because both applications rely on Google Maps. Facebook ‘Like’ buttons appear on a plethora of websites, which constantly pinged the blocking program. Trying to operate a phone not owned by Apple or Andriod (owned by Google) came with its own set of user interface issues. Amazon, which seems limited to the shopping app and Whole Foods, actually controls a huge cloud that hosts websites and apps like Netflix, Adobe, Spotify, and even McDonald’s. 

These five companies control more than the average person knows. What to do about it remains up for debate, but it’s definitely worth knowing about. To learn more about Hill’s attempt to limit her interactions with these companies, check out Gizmodo’s video series on the topic:

Amazon

Facebook

Google

Microsoft

Apple

All Five