References for infographics State of Power 2023

Geopolitics of digital power

• Map of Internet connectivity. Source: ITU ICT infrastructure map, 2020-2022, https://bbmaps.itu.int/bbmaps/ 
• Location of large data centres. Source: Synergy Research Group, 2021, https://www.srgresearch.com/articles/microsoft-amazon-and-google-account-for-over-half-of-todays-600-hyperscale-data-centers 
• Who owns the world’s fastest supercomputers? Share of the 500 fastest supercomputers in the world, by country (%). Source: Financial Times, via Top500, 2022, https://www.ft.com/content/d6e387a8-17a3-45fd-b5f4-6e509fe02586?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email#myft:my-news:pagehttps://www.top500.org/lists/top500/2022/06/
• Who owns the world’s satellites? Satellites owned/ operated by country, 2017-2021. Source: Union of Concerned Scientists, https://www.ucsusa.org/resources/satellite-database 
• Who controls the semiconductor production and sales? Global semiconductor sales by geographic area (%), 2019. Source: Boston Consulting Group & Semiconductor Industry Association, 2021, https://www.semiconductors.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/BCG-x-SIA-Strengthening-the-Global-Semiconductor-Value-Chain-April-2021_1.pdf

The rise of Big Tech

• Mark Zuckerberg quote. Source: Grey Journal, 2021, https://greyjournal.net/play/learn-culture/its-better-to-buy-than-compete-says-zuckerberg-lawsuit-update/
• Big Tech is the most profitable and valuable industry. Top ten companies according to sales, profits, and markets value. Source: Forbes Global 2000, via data.world, 2021https://data.world/aroissues/forbes-global-2000-2008-2019 
• Big Tech’s users outnumber entire countries. Active users of online platforms vs. country populations (billions). Source Wikipedia via Datareportal, 2021, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_social_platforms_with_at_least_100_million_active_users ; https://datareportal.com/reports/digital-2021-april-global-statshot
• Top ten telecommunications companies, 2020. Subscribers (in millions). Source: TeleGeography, 2020, https://blog.telegeography.com/top-telecos-by-wireless-subscribers-global
• Big Tech grew by gobbling up small tech. Companies bought by Meta (Facebook), 2007-2022. Source: GAFAM Empire, https://gafam.theglassroom.org/ 
• Jeff Bezos quote. Source: Vox, 2019, https://www.vox.com/recode/2019/5/3/18511544/amazon-prime-oral-history-jeff-bezos-one-day-shipping 
• They are controlling more of the infrastructure. Internet cable capacity provided by type of provider, 2016-2020. Source: Rest of World via TeleGeography, https://restofworld.org/2022/google-meta-underwater-cables/ ; https://www2.telegeography.com/ 
• Kilometres of submarine cables owned by major content providers. Source: BroadbandNow, 2021, via TeleGeoGraphy, https://broadbandnow.com/report/google-content-providers-submarine-cable-ownership/ ; https://www2.telegeography.com/ 
• Control of cloud computing. Where our websites and services are based, 2018. Source: Tortoise Media, 2020, https://www.tortoisemedia.com/2020/06/02/tech-states-united-states-of-amazon-economy/ 
• Who controls our browser? Browser market share worldwide, November 2021 - November 2022. Source: Statcounter, https://gs.statcounter.com/browser-market-share 
• Who controls our phone? Mobile OS market share worldwide, 2022. Source: Statista, https://www.statista.com/statistics/272698/global-market-share-held-by-mobile-operating-systems-since-2009/ 
• Top 20 most visited websites. Monthly traffic volume in billions. Source: Visual Capitalist, 2021, https://www.visualcapitalist.com/the-50-most-visited-websites-in-the-world/ 
• Lobbying expenditures in the US, 2021. Source: Open Secrets, 1998-2022,  https://www.opensecrets.org/. 
• Europe’s top corporate lobbyists, 2020-2021. Source: Financial Times via Transparency International, https://www.ft.com/content/cbb1fe40-860d-4013-bfcf-b75ee6e30206 ; https://transparency.eu/ 

Who owns Big Tech? 

• Approximate % ownership of GAFAM shares. Source: NASDAQ, 2022, Apple (https://www.nasdaq.com/market-activity/stocks/aapl/institutional-holdings), Amazon (https://www.nasdaq.com/market-activity/stocks/amzn/institutional-holdings), Meta (https://www.nasdaq.com/market-activity/stocks/meta/institutional-holdings), Alphabet (https://www.nasdaq.com/market-activity/stocks/goog/institutional-holdings), Microsoft (https://www.nasdaq.com/market-activity/stocks/msft/institutional-holdings)
• Platform economy has boomed on financial capital. Total funding from venture capital by selected digital labour platforms and region, 1998-2020. Source: International Labour Organisation, 2021, via Crunch Database, https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---dgreports/---dcomm/---publ/documents/publication/wcms_771749.pdf 
• Hourly income of different people involved in Uber, USD. Source: Morgan Stanley CEO James Gorman via Reuters, 2022, ​​https://www.reuters.com/business/morgan-stanley-board-lifts-ceo-gormans-pay-35-million-2022-01-21/. Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi via Business Insider, 2021, https://www.businessinsider.com/uber-dara-khosrowshahi-delivered-ubereats-2021-6?r=US&IR=T. Average hourly pay of an UberEats Delivery Driver via Glassdoor, 2023, https://www.glassdoor.com/Hourly-Pay/Uber-UberEATS-Delivery-Driver-Hourly-Pay-E575263_D_KO5,29.htm 

Surveillance Society

• Countries using AI technology. Source: Carnegie, 2019, https://carnegieendowment.org/publications/interactive/ai-surveillance 
• Corporate surveillance of users. Estimated daily RTB broadcast per person. Source: Irish Council for Civil Liberties, 2016, https://www.iccl.ie/digital-data/iccl-report-on-the-scale-of-real-time-bidding-data-broadcasts-in-the-u-s-and-europe/
• AI technologies used by cities in the US. Source: Atlas of Surveillance, 2022, https://atlasofsurveillance.org/
• US security departments contracts with Big Tech. Total number of government contracts and subcontracts by tech corporation, 2004-2021. SOurce: Big Tech Sells War, 2021, https://bigtechsellswar.com/#calculator-home

Digital counter-power

• Workers’ struggles in the tech sector, 2012-2020. Source: Collective Action in Tech, 2019, https://collectiveaction.tech/2020/2020-a-year-of-resistance-in-tech/
• Known BLM protests around the world, September 2020. Source: https://blm-map.com/ 
• Percentage of social media users in the US that have used social media to support a cause. Source: Pew Research Centre, 2020, https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/07/13/activism-on-social-media-varies-by-race-and-ethnicity-age-political-party/ 
• #fridaysforfuture climate protests around the world. Source: https://map.fridaysforfuture.org/ 
• Spread of #metoo around the world. Source: UN Women, 2020, https://www.unwomen.org/sites/default/files/Headquarters/Attachments/Sections/Library/Publications/2020/Brief-MeToo-Headlines-from-a-global-movement-en.pdf

Beginnings of regulation of Big Tech

• Data protection and privacy legislation. Source: UNCTAD, 2021,  https://unctad.org/page/data-protection-and-privacy-legislation-worldwide