What is the fuel that powers the world?
It’s no longer oil.
It’s data.
In this digital-era of ours, we are surrounded by data. The ones that control these data have enormous power over us and the economy.
Our every movement online are being tracked, like a giant eye following us everywhere we go and documenting our behavior for analysis in the lab.
Google can see what people search for, Facebook what they share, Amazon what they buy. They own app stores and operating systems, and rent out computing power to startups. They have a “God’s eye view” of activities in their own markets and beyond. They can see when a new product or service gains traction, allowing them to copy it or simply buy the upstart before it becomes too great a threat.
[…] By providing barriers to entry and early-warning systems, data can stifle competition.
Read more at The Economist