Image of Big Tech

Big Tech

Topic

Large technology corporations, whose past behavior regarding data privacy and censorship is cited as a cautionary tale for regulating the AI industry.


entitydetail.created_at

7/26/2025, 6:57:29 AM

entitydetail.last_updated

7/26/2025, 6:59:44 AM

entitydetail.research_retrieved

7/26/2025, 6:59:43 AM

Summary

Big Tech, also known as Tech Giants or Tech Titans, refers to the world's largest and most influential technology companies, predominantly based in the United States. This group typically includes Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Meta, and Microsoft (the "Big Five"), sometimes expanded to include Nvidia and Tesla (the "Magnificent Seven"). Major Chinese firms like Baidu, Alibaba, Tencent, and Xiaomi (BATX) are also often encompassed. These entities dominate critical sectors such as artificial intelligence, e-commerce, cloud computing, and social networking, with many holding market capitalizations exceeding $1 trillion. Their pervasive influence means operating in the digital world is challenging outside their ecosystems. Big Tech has faced significant criticism, including concerns over monopolistic practices leading to antitrust investigations, user privacy, market power, and censorship. The Trump Administration, for instance, has highlighted perceived censorship and data privacy missteps by Big Tech, aiming to ensure the global dominance of the American technology stack. Historically, companies like IBM and AT&T held similar positions of dominance in the 20th century.

Referenced in 1 Document
Research Data
Extracted Attributes
  • Aliases

    Tech Giants, Tech Titans, Big Five, Magnificent Seven, BATX

  • Influence

    Pervasive in the digital world, shapes industries and consumer behavior

  • Dominant Areas

    Artificial intelligence, E-commerce, Cloud computing, Social networking, Online advertising, Consumer electronics, Computer software, Media streaming, Smart home, Self-driving cars

  • Key Criticisms

    Monopolistic practices, Antitrust investigations, User privacy concerns, Market power, Censorship, Free speech, National security, Law enforcement, Impact on innovation, Job displacement

  • Primary US Companies

    Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Meta, Microsoft

  • Expanded US Companies

    Nvidia, Tesla

  • Historical Precedents

    IBM, AT&T (20th century)

  • Market Capitalization

    Often exceeding $1 trillion, some above $3 trillion

  • Primary Chinese Companies

    Baidu, Alibaba, Tencent, Xiaomi

  • Primary Geographic Concentration

    United States, China

  • Policy Stance (Trump Administration)

    Perceived censorship and data privacy missteps, focus on American technology stack dominance

Timeline
  • Meta Platforms' market capitalization fell below $1 trillion. (Source: DBPedia)

    2021-12-01

  • Amazon.com Inc.'s market capitalization fell below $1 trillion. (Source: DBPedia)

    2022-11-01

Big Tech

Big Tech, also referred to as the Tech Giants or Tech Titans, is a collective term for the largest and most influential technology companies in the world. The label draws a parallel to similar classifications in other industries, such as "Big Oil" or "Big Tobacco". In the United States, it commonly denotes the five dominant firms—Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Meta, and Microsoft—often called the "Big Five". An expanded grouping, sometimes termed the "Magnificent Seven", includes Nvidia and Tesla, which each have a market capitalization larger than Meta. The concept of Big Tech can also extend to the major Chinese technology firms—Baidu, Alibaba, Tencent, and Xiaomi—collectively referred to as BATX.

Web Search Results
  • Why and how is the power of Big Tech increasing in the policy ...

    We refer to “Big Tech” as group of companies that own or control important digital platforms; notable examples include Alphabet (Google), Amazon, Apple, Meta (née Facebook), and Microsoft (Birch & Bronson, 2022)1. While the domains and models of these companies’ platforms are different, they are all characterized by their intermediating nature, providing matching services to providers and users of services in their platforms (Wörsdörfer, 2022). The platform economy is characterized by the [...] Big Tech have become pivotal in shaping ideas that identify and prioritize issues as “problems” (Young, 2019). Big Tech exert influence primarily by controlling information in digital platforms like social media and search engines. These platforms allow Big Tech to selectively control the visibility of content online, effectively influencing which issues receive public and scholarly attention. Such selective prioritization includes political discourse, narratives, and contested social issues. [...] The growing digitalization of our society has led to a meteoric rise of large technology companies (Big Tech), which have amassed tremendous wealth and influence through their ownership of digital infrastructure and platforms. The recent launch of ChatGPT and the rapid popularization of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) act as a focusing event to further accelerate the concentration of power in the hands of the Big Tech. By using Kingdon’s multiple streams framework, this article

  • Big Tech's Overpowering Influence: Risks To Markets And Your Money

    ## Impact On Innovation And Consumer Choice Big Tech corporations' overwhelming hegemony begs serious issues regarding their influence on innovation in the tech industry as well as on consumer choice and pricing. Although these giants propel major technological developments and frequently provide user-centric products, their market power may ironically inhibit more general innovation and limit real consumer choices. [...] ## The Landscape Of Tech Dominance A small number of businesses in the digital era have not only altered the technology scene but also taken the stage. The term ‘Big Tech’ appeared around 2113. The companies, including Google, Amazon, Facebook, and Apple, have grown to be major players in international business, society, and media. Their explosive rise over the past ten years has radically changed consumer behavior and sectors of industry all around. [...] Starting a business in a sector where one or more of these giants are in control can feel like exploring a fortification. Big Tech's large financial resources, thorough customer data, and developed brand loyalty combine to create a competitive environment that is quite challenging for younger, smaller businesses to enter. Moreover, the technology infrastructure—which includes servers, platforms, and software—often demands large investment, which can be prohibitive for businesses without enough

  • List of largest technology companies by revenue - Wikipedia

    --- | | Companies with an annual revenue of over US$3 billion | | ADATA Amazon Apple Dell Dell EMC Fujitsu Google Hitachi Data Systems Hewlett Packard Enterprise IBM Kingston Technology Kioxia Microsoft NetApp Oracle Plextor Samsung Seagate Silicon Power Sony Transcend Information Western Digital | | v t e Major mobile device companies | | --- | | Companies with an annual revenue of over US$3 billion | | Acer Advan "Advan (brand)") Alba "Alba (brand)") Amazon [...] This is a global list of largest technology companies by revenue, according to the _Fortune_ Global 500. It shows companies identified by _Fortune "Fortune (magazine)")_ as being in the technology sector, ranked by total annual revenue. Other metrics not shown here, in particular market capitalization, are often used alternatively to define the size of a company. The list includes companies whose primary business activities are associated with the technology industry, which includes computer [...] | Company | Revenue ($B) USD( | Employees( | Country (origin) | Headquarters | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Amazon "Amazon (company)") | $574.8 | 1,525,000 | Image 4: United StatesUS | Seattle, Washington&Arlington, Virginia, US | | Apple | $394.33 | 164,000 | Image 5: United StatesUS | Cupertino, California, US | | Alphabet | $282.84 | 190,234 | Image 6: United StatesUS | Mountain View, California, US |

  • Largest tech companies by market cap

    | Image 47: favorite icon | 20 | Image 48: Salesforce logo Salesforce CRM | $260.69 B | $272.69 | 0.27% | | 🇺🇸 USA | | Image 49: favorite icon | 21 | Image 50: AMD logo AMD AMD | $230.07 B | $141.90 | 1.33% | | 🇺🇸 USA | | Image 51: favorite icon | 22 | Image 52: Intuit logo Intuit INTU | $219.70 B | $787.63 | 1.42% | | 🇺🇸 USA | | Image 53: favorite icon | 23 | Image 54: ServiceNow logo ServiceNow NOW | $212.96 B | $1,028 | 0.55% | | 🇺🇸 USA | [...] | | Rank | Name | Market Cap | Price | Today | Price (30 days) | Country | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Image 9: favorite icon | 1 | Image 10: NVIDIA logo NVIDIA NVDA | $3.852 T | $157.99 | 0.15% | | 🇺🇸 USA | | Image 11: favorite icon | 2 | Image 12: Microsoft logo Microsoft MSFT | $3.697 T | $497.41 | 0.30% | | 🇺🇸 USA | | Image 13: favorite icon | 3 | Image 14: Apple logo Apple AAPL | $3.064 T | $205.17 | 2.03% | | 🇺🇸 USA | [...] | Image 15: favorite icon | 4 | Image 16: Amazon logo Amazon AMZN | $2.329 T | $219.39 | 1.75% | | 🇺🇸 USA | | Image 17: favorite icon | 5 | Image 18: Alphabet (Google) logo Alphabet (Google) GOOG | $2.144 T | $177.39 | 0.49% | | 🇺🇸 USA | | Image 19: favorite icon | 6 | Image 20: Meta Platforms (Facebook) logo Meta Platforms (Facebook) META | $1.855 T | $738.09 | 0.61% | | 🇺🇸 USA | | Image 21: favorite icon | 7 | Image 22: Broadcom logo Broadcom AVGO | $1.296 T | $275.65 | 2.34% | | 🇺🇸 USA |

  • 18 Largest Tech Companies in the U.S. - Built In

    Dominating the global tech landscape, these U.S.-based giants shape industries ranging from artificial intelligence to personal computing hardware. Image 4: Jenny Lyons-Cunha Written by Jenny Lyons-Cunha Published on Jan. 22, 2025 is a popular platform for real-time communication and social engagement, serving as a hub for news, entertainment and public discourse. Based in Bastrop, Texas, the company employs more than 2,000 people and operates in more than 35 countries. [...] When you visit any website, it may store or retrieve information on your browser, mostly in the form of cookies. This information might be about you, your preferences or your device and is mostly used to make the site work as you expect it to. The information does not usually directly identify you, but it can give you a more personalized web experience. Because we respect your right to privacy, you can choose not to allow some types of cookies. Click on the different category headings to find

Big Tech, also known as the Tech Giants, is a grouping of the most dominant companies in the information technology industry, mostly centered in the United States. The term also can refer to the four or five largest American tech companies, sometimes referred to as the Big Four or Big Five, which presently consist of Alphabet (Google), Amazon, Apple, and Meta (Facebook)—with Microsoft completing the Big Five. The tech giants are dominant players in their respective areas of technology: artificial intelligence, e-commerce, online advertising, consumer electronics, cloud computing, computer software, media streaming, smart home, self-driving cars, and social networking. They are among the most valuable public companies globally, each having had a maximum market capitalization ranging from around $1 trillion to above $3 trillion. In December 2021 and November 2022 respectively, Meta Platforms and Amazon.com Inc. fell below their $1 trillion market caps. They are also considered among the most prestigious employers in the world, especially Google. The Big Five are incredibly powerful corporations in structural and relational terms. As such, they have been criticized for creating a new economic order called surveillance capitalism. They typically offer services to millions of users, and thus can hold sway on user behavior as well as control of user data. Concerns over monopolistic practices have led to antitrust investigations from the Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission in the United States, and the European Commission. Commentators have questioned the impact of these companies on privacy, market power, free speech, censorship, national security and law enforcement. It has been speculated that it may not be possible to live in the digital world day-to-day outside of the ecosystem created by the companies. The concept of Big Tech is analogous to the consolidation of market dominance by a few companies in other market sectors such as Big Oil and Big Media. Big Tech's definition has also grown to include smaller tech companies which themselves have larger caps, as well as non-tech companies which mirror some of the practices or results of Big Tech, notably Tesla and Netflix. Companies like Tencent, Baidu, Alibaba Group, and Xiaomi serve as the equivalent to the Big Four in Asia. "Big Tech" may also refer to historical versions of this concept, with IBM and AT&T considered dominant in the 20th century American technology industry.

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Location Data

Doper Tech, Sarajevska cesta, Čizma, Općina Kiseljak, Srednjobosanski kanton / Županija Središnja Bosna, Federacija Bosne i Hercegovine, 71250, Bosna i Hercegovina / Босна и Херцеговина

electronics

Coordinates: 43.9370201, 18.0825544

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