Shove off, Romeo and Juliet. We’ve just uncovered a love story far more intricate and enthralling than yours. In the grand theatre of late stage capitalism, there exists a romantic story, not between star-crossed lovers, but between the titans of Big Tech and government powers. This relationship, steeped in data and driven by profit and surveillance, is rewriting the narrative of privacy, control, and ethical boundaries in our digital age.
Big Tech’s current business model is centred around the mantra of “collect, collect, collect.” It is as if they go on to their séance every night, worshipping the concept of greedy pursuit of material wealth—reminiscent of ‘Mammon’, the biblical embodiment of capitalism. This approach has unleashed a Pandora’s Box, making it particularly vulnerable to exploitation by governments. And recent events have shown that it is not just those with authoritarian inclinations are tempted to misuse this wealth of information.
This model is, of course, highly profitable. Just look at how Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Meta, and Microsoft earned enough revenue as of seven days and three hours into 2024 to cover their combined fines of $3.04 billion, penalties incurred for legal violations in the US and Europe. Their business model effectively transforms users into products where our personal information are commoditised in the process. This echoes what Marx called ‘commodity fetishism’ in which our social relationships and our identities are transformed into mere economic transactions. Here, our privacy is sidelined. It is treated more as an obstacle to be circumvented than a right to be protected. Such a model is deeply rooted in exploitation.
To understand what’s going on, we need to look closer at the intricate relationship between the state and the capital. Tech companies are obsessed with collecting as much of your data as possible, as we have established. They do this because it helps them make more money. That simple. These corporations, in pursuit of market revenues, frequently align themselves with state agendas. Why? They don’t want to lose access to their market. Just look how easily Facebook bowed down to the Vietnamese government’s censorship demands for posts containing anti-state rhetoric in 2020. Data is indeed the new oil. It has become a prized commodity and in this process corporations that control this resource have been held up to influential positions in the global economy. This power, of course, is not without consequences. This is even more evident if we look at the other side of the coin: the governments. They cannot resist using all this data for their own purposes, often at the expense of civil liberties and democratic principles hidden under the guise of national security. It’s a tale as old as time where the line between state and modern feudal fiefdom blurs, leading to potential abuses of power and erosion of the privacy rights of citizens.
Analysing the power dynamics at play here is crucial. These tech companies have tons of money and influence. Their economic clout, derived from vast revenues and market capitalisation, allows them to shape not only market trends but also societal norms and behaviors. As Antonio Gramsci has written in his Prison Notebooks, hegemony is achieved not through force or coercion, but by winning the consent of the governed. Governments, on the other hand, wield political power and are aware of the influence of tech companies in the society. Choosing to align with them to maintain their own control over the narrative and ideology within society is another piece of a puzzle. The unique authority of the state to define legal frameworks which includes the ability to impose restrictions or requirements on tech companies make the intersection of these two forms of power – economic and political – a pandemoniac arena for the working class liberation.
This issue transcends corporate greed as it has embedded itself in the very fabric of global economic and political structures just like how cancer cells proliferate and entrench themselves within the body’s own systems. The pursuit of capital growth and market access frequently overrides concerns for human rights and ethical governance. And often, the balance of power often tips in favour of capital controllers, leaving individuals and citizens marginalised. Addressing this issue requires more than just corporate white papers, bullshit reports on sustainable development (that does nothing) and public relations maneuvers. It calls for a fundamental reassessment of the role and responsibility of tech companies in global society. The once-touted motto of ‘don’t be evil’ seems a distant memory in today’s landscape of digital capitalism, isn’t it, Google? It’s time to confront the elephant in the room and acknowledge the complicity of tech companies in these dynamics. This demands a shift in our understanding of the role of technology in society, not just as a tool for economic growth, but as a medium with profound impacts on our democratic values and the very essence of our collective freedoms.
