GoKawiilEconomists trace rise of 'technofeudalism' concept describing Big Tech's platform control
The concept of technofeudalism describes a system in which major technology firms such as Google, Amazon, Facebook and Apple control digital platforms, data and online markets in ways likened to feudal lords controlling land. The term has roots in both information security writing by Bruce Schneier in the early 2010s and economic theory from Marina Gorbis, Kostakis and Bauwens, later popularized by economist Yanis Varoufakis.
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The framing suggests a shift in how economists and technologists describe digital capitalism, moving from competition-based market models to one of platform ownership and dependency. Varoufakis and others argue this structure leaves value creators—users and smaller businesses—unrewarded while platform owners capture monetized exchange value, though this remains a contested theoretical interpretation rather than settled consensus.
- Technofeudalism describes Big Tech firms as having feudal-lord-like control over digital platforms and data.
- The idea developed independently in information security (Schneier, 2012-13) and economics (Gorbis, 2010; Kostakis and Bauwens, 2014).
- Yanis Varoufakis has popularized the term, arguing companies like Google and Amazon own and control markets rather than merely competing in them.
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Published there as: “Technofeudalism”
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