Consolidation is not a new phenomenon, but often an expected evolution as industries and markets mature. Opportunities to reduce costs, expand market share, and enhance scalability are intrinsic incentives in any economic domain where companies acquire competitors or subsume parts of the production chain. This is also true for the Internet Economy, understood as those economic activities that either support the Internet (e.g. Internet Service Providers) or are fundamentally dependent on the Internet’s existence (e.g. video streaming services).
The fact that a few corporations dominate large parts of the Internet is not news. Today, a handful of actors play a significant role in our increasingly-connected societies. In this context, there is a growing concern about the dominance of a small number of corporations – typically Internet platforms – shaping the online world and its use. For some, the concerns relate to the lack of competition in specific markets, its impact on future investments, while also raising question if some economic actors are “too big to fail”. Other commentators and the media make use of colorful acronyms, such as the “GAFAs” (Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon), “FANGs” (Facebook, Amazon, Netflix, Google), or “the BATs” (Baidu, Alibaba, Tencent) to describe a limited number of players dominating innovation and opportunities online.
While new entrants may appear in the future, to many people these Internet giants have become the primary means for gaining access to the Internet, for education, for news, for finding jobs, for shopping, or for staying in touch with loved ones. To some, they are an important part of making the Internet relevant to everyday life.
By using consolidation of the Internet Economy as a starting point, the 2019 Global Internet Report will look towards the future and investigate the impact of consolidation on the other “Drivers of Change” identified in 2017. It will notably take a closer look at its technical implications and whether the forces of consolidation are hampering or enhancing users’ ability to choose the services they want, to protect their privacy, and to share information unhindered[3]. Through the lens of its impact on the Drivers it will explore questions such as the potential consolidation of network traffic and an evolving Internet architecture, its impact on cybersecurity, and what consolidation of the Internet Economy means for regulation and a centralization of power in the next three to five years.
The 2017 Global Internet Report found that our community is optimistic about a dynamic Internet economy in the future, but is also concerned that the lack thereof could have severe implications for the Internet’s technical evolution and use. The Internet Society’s 2019 Global Internet Report will study several questions linked to an increasingly consolidated Internet economy, including understanding the potential benefits and challenges of consolidation – to its users as well as to the Internet’s fundamental technical properties. The report will also look into how this trend is shaping the future role of Internet stakeholders including governments. In doing so, the report will be guided by the Internet Society’s mission to promote the development of the Internet as a global technical infrastructure, a resource to enrich people’s lives, and a force for good in society.
Endnotes
[1] ISOC refers to these Internet properties as the “Internet invariants”
[2] https://future.internetsociety.org/introduction/how-we-see-the-internet/
[3] ISOC sees these abilities as critical to the social value that the Internet provides to people. For more information see https://future.internetsociety.org/introduction/how-we-see-the-internet/