# Unsustainable Big Tech By [Miguel](https://paragraph.com/@miguel-2) · 2022-03-18 --- > _The internet, left unchecked, is a monopoly-making machine, an engine designed to concentrate power, attention and more in the hands of those who already have it,_ **_James Ball_** The Monopoly ------------ The supracited applies both to giant corporations like Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon, Microsoft, etc (**aka Big Tech**), and telecom companies owning undersea cables that carry traffic between continents and/or fiber and wireless networks that bring the internet to homes and devices. There is an increasing overlap between those two layers, since the **number of undersea cables owned by Big Tech** has surged over the last decade ([ref](https://archive.ph/JEvCs)). > **_Facebook_** _and_ **_Google_** _are quickly taking over the seas. By_ **_2020_**_, both companies will own about_ **_29% of the underwater cables_** _that run throughout the World (_[_ref_](https://archive.ph/keXp1)_)_ Tech giants eagerly purchase platforms in order to integrate data streams and neutralize potential competitors, with **Google buying** YouTube and Waze, **Facebook buying** Whatsapp and Instagram, **Amazon buying** Goodreads and Twitch, and **Microsoft buying** LinkedIn and GitHub. > **_Antitrust regulations_** _exist to prevent businesses from holding too much centralized power over an industry_ > **_Advertising_** _accounts for as much as 90 % of_ **_Google_**_’s revenue, boosting the_ **_market capitalization_** _of its parent company (Alphabet) to roughly the size of_ **_Mexico’s GDP_** Legislators at state and federal levels can take action to promote competition by preventing mergers, breaking up big companies, and penalizing companies for anti-competitive behavior with fines. > **_Facebook has been accused_** _of anticompetitive conduct, including buying up competing firms and copying features from rival apps_ > **_Google_**, **_Amazon_**, _and_ **_Apple_** _were also subjected to a broad_ **_antitrust_** _review opened by the US justice department in July 2019_ Big Tech's monopolistic position allows them to simply **dictate "Terms and Conditions"** (also known as **"Terms of Service"**) to their hundreds of millions of users and the latter have, in order to participate, only one option – to hit **‘I agree’**. Another element that worries the European Union and countries such as China, India, Russia, and Brazil, is that the bulk of those services are controlled from one country – the USA. The next infographic by Visual Capitalist (April 2020), archived on [https://archive.ph/mXabl](https://archive.ph/mXabl), illustrates how long an average person would take to read the **Terms of Service (ToS)** of the most popular Big Tech companies / web 2.0 apps nowadays. **Reading time was computed assuming the speed of 240 words/min**, and the length of the ToS text is expressed by its total word count. ![Length of terms of service agreements](https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/1101cec9eb148483e642c452b08ebe1cb735178ae51c1803348e5729ffd6309c.jpg) Length of terms of service agreements Unsustainable Capitalism ------------------------ The number of **billionaires** on **2021** [Forbes’ list of the World’s richest](https://www.forbes.com/billionaires/) (archived [here](https://archive.ph/MiDIY)) exploded to an unprecedented **2755** (660 more than in 2020). Altogether these billionaires are **worth 13.1 Trillion USD ($)**, up from 8 Trillion $ in 2020. Among those individuals, 6 out of the top 10 have their source of wealth located in **Big Tech** (e.g, Amazon, Microsoft, Facebook, Google, Oracle). **1 Million** (M) $ = 1 000 000 $ **1 Billion** (B) $ = 1 000 000 000 $ **1 Trillion** (T) $ = 1 000 000 000 000 $ It should be a crime (In My Opinion - IMO) to amass such huge amounts of wealth while: > _Around_ **_700 Million_** _people in the World are estimated to live in extreme poverty, i.e with_ **_less than 1.90 $/day_** _(_[_ref1_](https://archive.ph/CS3QK)_,_ [_ref2_](https://archive.ph/XZWHV)_)_ > _More than_ **_3 Billion_** _people in the World are poor, i.e. live_ **_under 5.50 $/day_** _(_[_ref_](https://archive.ph/gAbIr)_)_ ![](https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/06894735fda5d04f77a7924a203e1e02af363d21e64be08f4862a69747d6442b.png) > _Roughly_ **_600 Million_** _people globally still practice_ **_open defecation_** _(_[_ref_](https://archive.ph/XZWHV)_)_ **Lets do the maths:** * Assumption: * If every year we take all the net worth from every new billionaire but 100 Million $/person, and put it together for donation to the World's poorest, we will manage to gather a min of **5.034 Trillion $/year** * 5 100 000 Million $/year - 660 \* 100 Million $/year = 5 034 000 Million $/year = **5.034 Trillion $/year**, where 660 is the number of new billionaires and 5.1 Trillion $ the corresponding wealth net worth in 2021 Forbes' list * Problem: * With 5.034 Trillion $ available for donation every year, how many poor people can get an **extra** of 3.8 $/day? * 3.8 $ = 2 x 1.9 $, where 1.9 $ is the boundary value between poverty and extreme poverty * Solution: * 3.8 $/day/person = 1387 $/year/person * 5 034 000 Million $/year  **/** 1387 $/year/person = **3.629 Billion persons** * 3.629 Billion people is probably more than the number of poor in the World today, i.e those living under 5.50 $/day * note that only new billionaires every year entered the equation – if the remaining richest (incl. millionaires) were taken into account, the impact would be even higher If the richest capped their wealth net worth to 100 Million $ and donated the exceeding to the World's poorest, it would certainly be possible to fully erradicate poverty (i.e. to live with at least 5.5 $/day). Next you can see the ranking positions of some billionaires whose source of wealth come from Big Tech companies. **Do you consider it sustainable to be a billionaire in the World you live in today?** 1\. **Jeff Bezos**, Net Worth: 177 B $, **Amazon** 4\. **Bill Gates**, Net Worth: 124 B $, **Microsoft** 5\. **Mark Zuckerberg**, Net Worth: 97 B $, **Facebook** 8\. **Larry Page**, Net Worth: 91.5 B $, **Google** 39\. **Zhang Yiming**, Net Worth: 35.6 B $, **TikTok** 83\. **Pierre Omidyar**, Net Worth: 21.4 B $, **eBay**, **PayPal** 95\. **Laurene Powell Jobs & family**, Net Worth: 19 B $, **Apple**, **Disney** 112\. **Pavel Durov**, Net Worth: 17.2 B $, **Telegram** 133\. **Eric Yuan & family**, Net Worth: 14.9 B $, **Zoom** 154\. **Brian Chesky**, Net Worth: 13.7 B $, **Airbnb** 173\. **Jack Dorsey**, Net Worth: 12.5 B $, **Twitter**, **Square** 451\. **Martin Lorentzon**, Net Worth: 6 B $, **Spotify** 655\. **Garrett Camp**, Net Worth: 4.4 B $, **Uber** The point is not how much they have spent to improve the World or reduce poverty; the point is how much they havent while creating monopolies and increasing their wealth way beyond the rational need (**IMO**). Most of the firms mentioned above are listed in the [TOP 30 tech companies doing the most harm](https://archive.ph/fDMNm) (the most evil), according to Slate magazine (2020). ![Frances Haugen](https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/fb2fb3ee29ca3402e24a6bdd2b82cf32e4e0e80ae830138d0074282d778f2a37.jpg) Frances Haugen > _Facebook puts “astronomical profits before people”, harms children and is destabilising democracies_, > _Facebook has sown more division, more harm, more lies, more threats, and more combat_, the whistleblower and former Facebook employee [Frances Haugen](https://archive.is/VUrgx) (pic above) has claimed in testimony to the US Congress on October 5th 2021. Haugen leaked tens of thousands of pages of Facebook’s documents (aka [Facebook papers](https://archive.ph/09bux)) that laid the groundwork for several investigations. [https://twitter.com/i/status/1444810664502079491](https://twitter.com/i/status/1444810664502079491) “Facebook Papers” showed the appalling truth that Facebook staff were aware of several nefast impacts of companie’s algorithms on users’ well being. They also revealed the (little) concern the company has shown for the state of democracy and Human Rights in India, Indonesia, Brazil, and other postcolonial countries ([ref](https://archive.ph/ZF4bd)). [https://www.howtostopfacebook.org/](https://www.howtostopfacebook.org/) > _Facebook is an agent of government propaganda, targeted harassment, terrorist recruitment, emotional manipulation, and genocide—a World-historic weapon that lives not underground, but in a Disneyland-inspired campus in Menlo Park, California_, [_Adrienne LaFrance_](https://archive.ph/G56a4) > _Apple Inc. former engineering manager Ashley Gjovik was fired on Sept 2021 after filing a complaint alleging harassment by a manager, a retaliatory investigation, and forced paid administrative leave. Her situation began when she voiced fears about whether pollution had made her office a dangerous place to work_ ([ref](https://archive.ph/PJ3My)) [https://twitter.com/ashleygjovik/status/1432381235926499332](https://twitter.com/ashleygjovik/status/1432381235926499332) Watch Ed Snowden warning about data surveillance in 2019 - short video available on [ChainSafe](https://app.files.chainsafe.io/link-sharing/read/eyJhbGciOiJFUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJ0eXBlIjoibGlua19zaGFyaW5nIiwicGVybWlzc2lvbiI6InJlYWQiLCJpYXQiOjE2NTUxNzM0NTgsImJ1Y2tldF9pZCI6IjIwMjQ1YTQ5LWQzZDUtNDc4ZC04ZWM3LTIwMzZlMTE5NTBmOCIsIm5vbmNlX2lkIjoiNDliZjE2MmMtMDkxMC00Y2M2LThmMmYtNWI2NDkzODcxNDFhIn0._F5fhuSS_-7zlr5hqiRBxlHq13CJml4e3DzsiByOjZ3pokHh0sdkagmHVN3BzxYnqk2GAOVgF1YVgWCb1rYj3g#VzGaaZPLpQzZc%2FvVoisJNkOT8ZZ1lfd0eGGMUezgnFM%3D). [https://twitter.com/Snowden/status/1445121081279275009?ref\_src=twsrc%5Etfw](https://twitter.com/Snowden/status/1445121081279275009?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) The Social Dilemma ------------------ [https://www.thesocialdilemma.com/](https://www.thesocialdilemma.com/) This documentary-drama hybrid reveals how social media is reprogramming civilization with tech experts sounding the alarm on their own creations". Also available for streaming/downloading on [ChainSafe](https://app.files.chainsafe.io/link-sharing/read/eyJhbGciOiJFUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJ0eXBlIjoibGlua19zaGFyaW5nIiwicGVybWlzc2lvbiI6InJlYWQiLCJpYXQiOjE2NTUxNzM0NTgsImJ1Y2tldF9pZCI6IjIwMjQ1YTQ5LWQzZDUtNDc4ZC04ZWM3LTIwMzZlMTE5NTBmOCIsIm5vbmNlX2lkIjoiNDliZjE2MmMtMDkxMC00Y2M2LThmMmYtNWI2NDkzODcxNDFhIn0._F5fhuSS_-7zlr5hqiRBxlHq13CJml4e3DzsiByOjZ3pokHh0sdkagmHVN3BzxYnqk2GAOVgF1YVgWCb1rYj3g#VzGaaZPLpQzZc%2FvVoisJNkOT8ZZ1lfd0eGGMUezgnFM%3D). [https://archive.org/embed/the-social-dilemma-full-feature-netflix?display=iframe](https://archive.org/embed/the-social-dilemma-full-feature-netflix?display=iframe) [https://mirror.xyz/0x2DBF911D78815D995B05bc8FA42e378f78D7CC7b/ll47X6Gk88fo4oNaBu7zfc7nE8xj-luhq2B7K6dEU68](https://mirror.xyz/0x2DBF911D78815D995B05bc8FA42e378f78D7CC7b/ll47X6Gk88fo4oNaBu7zfc7nE8xj-luhq2B7K6dEU68) Solution -------- A growing international community of developers, technologists, and finance professionals is working to reform the internet by using blockchain protocols and open-source technologies to build a new internet system altogether — one that redistributes data and power back to users. Read more on [**The new Web**](https://mirror.xyz/0x2DBF911D78815D995B05bc8FA42e378f78D7CC7b/fKbxY-5AdRsCdY2jg_gDacHCYSu4XMc2h5NJvWWIhDg). I´m not against capitalism, but **definitely against elitism and unbridled capitalism**. References ---------- [https://mirror.xyz/0x2DBF911D78815D995B05bc8FA42e378f78D7CC7b/C4EHte28WJrWHWWSsgxFMdaH5vb4nn2FNCh\_3ttIzgI](https://mirror.xyz/0x2DBF911D78815D995B05bc8FA42e378f78D7CC7b/C4EHte28WJrWHWWSsgxFMdaH5vb4nn2FNCh_3ttIzgI) [https://archive.ph/QfEwa](https://archive.ph/QfEwa) [https://archive.ph/WlnjB](https://archive.ph/WlnjB) [https://archive.ph/fDMNm](https://archive.ph/fDMNm) [https://archive.ph/PhC88](https://archive.ph/PhC88) [https://archive.ph/V2hpf](https://archive.ph/V2hpf) --- *Originally published on [Miguel](https://paragraph.com/@miguel-2/unsustainable-big-tech)*