When Tech Owns Everything, What’s Left for Us?
Reimagining Digital Power in a World Run by Platforms
The Internet Feels Like It Belongs to Everyone—But Does It?
In my years advising organizations on technological futures, one question keeps surfacing: Why do the digital tools meant to connect and empower us often leave our communities feeling more vulnerable and disconnected? The answer lies not in the technology itself, but in who controls it. Every time you check social media, shop online, or use a ride-sharing app, you're participating in a hidden power dynamic that shapes not just your individual experience, but the economic and social fabric of your community. There’s a system of control shaping what we see, how we engage, and who profits from it. The question is not just who owns our data—but who owns and governs the digital world itself?
As a researcher studying how communities can reclaim agency in the digital age, I see both challenge and hope. The challenge is clear: a handful of corporations now dominate our digital infrastructure, turning our daily interactions into profitable data points while communities lose control over their digital destinies. But there's also hope in the growing movement to democratize digital ownership and put technology's power back in community hands.
The Digital Power Grab
The digital economy was envisioned as a decentralized, open frontier, where anyone could participate and benefit. Instead, it has become a highly centralized system dominated by a few massive entities—Google, Amazon, Meta, Apple, and Microsoft—who control the platforms, data flows, and technological infrastructures that define modern life. The concentrated ownership of digital systems affects us all. When Amazon's cloud services go down, countless local businesses lose access to their operational tools. When Facebook's algorithms change, community organizations see their reach plummet. When Google maps reroutes traffic, entire neighborhoods feel the impact. This isn't just about convenience—it's about power and who gets to exercise it.
Here’s how they exercise control:
Data Extraction as a Business Model: Every interaction online generates data that is collected, analyzed, and monetized—without returning any benefit to the people who produce it.
Algorithmic Influence: Tech giants determine what content we see, shaping our experiences, knowledge, and even political opinions.
Infrastructure Ownership: From cloud computing to undersea cables, these companies don’t just control platforms—they own the backbone of the internet itself.
This structure leaves individuals and communities with little say over how their data is used, reinforcing digital inequality and limiting democratic governance of the online world.
Alternatives in Action
But communities aren't standing idle.
In Barcelona, residents are using the DECODE project to control how their personal data is shared and used.
In New York City, a community-run network called NYC Mesh is providing affordable, locally-controlled internet access.
Indigenous communities worldwide are developing their own frameworks for managing digital information, ensuring their knowledge and cultural heritage remain under their control. For example, Te Mana Raraunga, a Māori Data Sovereignty network, works to ensure Māori data is managed by Māori for Māori.
Platform cooperatives—digital platforms owned and governed by their users—are proving that technology can serve communities rather than extract from them. The Driver's Cooperative, for instance, gives ride-share drivers ownership over their platform, ensuring profits flow back to workers instead of distant shareholders.
And organizations like Solid, led by web inventor Tim Berners-Lee, advocate for personal data pods—giving individuals control over their own data, rather than surrendering it to platforms.
These initiatives show us that alternative ownership models are possible.
Technology That Works for Everyone
If we want to reclaim agency in the digital world, we need systemic change. We need three key shifts to support this transformation:
Strong data rights that give communities real control over their digital resources: policies are needed at the global level to ensure individuals and communities have meaningful control over their data.
Public investment in community-owned digital infrastructure: knowledge-sharing networks and open-source movements need greater support to remain viable alternatives to corporate platforms. Cities and local governments should support community-driven broadband networks and decentralized web initiatives to provide fair access and accountability.
Frameworks that prioritize collective benefit over corporate profit: alternative economic models must be strengthened to create a more equitable digital ecosystem.
These shifts require coordinated action from individuals, policymakers, and grassroots organizations—but they also depend on public awareness and engagement.
Why This Matters
Of course, rethinking digital ownership is not without obstacles. Large-scale systemic change is difficult, and tech companies have enormous resources and influence. Many argue that their scale and efficiency are necessary for modern digital services to function, while decentralized alternatives struggle with sustainability, usability, and adoption at scale. Meanwhile, governments often use digital regulation to consolidate state power, rather than empower communities.
Still, history shows that entrenched power structures can be reimagined—public utilities replaced exploitative monopolies in the past, and communities have successfully resisted corporate dominance in multiple sectors. Communities around the world are proving that digital systems don’t have to be extractive—they can be participatory, equitable, and empowering. The question is whether we choose to support and build those alternatives.
Will our local economies be drained by platform monopolies, deepening inequality, or will we build systems that generate and retain wealth locally? Will our data be used to surveil and manipulate us, eroding democratic norms, or will it become a resource for community empowerment? Ownership matters. Technology isn’t just something we use—it’s something we can shape.