Big Tech’s Dominance and Transnational Infrastructure

This case study investigates how the physical infrastructure of the internet—particularly the distribution of Content Delivery Networks (CDNs)—reinforces the global dominance of Big Tech companies, especially Google, Apple, Facebook, and Amazon (GAFA). It explores how market concentration, private infrastructure ownership, and selective peering arrangements shape the cost, speed, and quality of internet access worldwide. While GAFA’s presence in the global North is dense, many regions in the global South remain underserved, forcing smaller internet service providers (ISPs) to pay more to access content. These infrastructural disparities result in unequal digital connectivity and deepen global inequalities in information access and competition. Using concepts such as interconnection, transit, and peering, the case highlights how business decisions made by Big Tech companies—not public policies—largely determine how users’ data circulates across borders. It raises urgent questions about transparency, competition, and the ethical implications of privatized digital infrastructure in a globalized world.