This is the first comprehensive book from a radical left perspective on the rising power of the Silicon Valley tech sector, and above all the five dominant empires of Apple, Google, Microsoft, Facebook and Amazon. An ocean of liberal ass-kissery dominates analysis of these giants, along with some right-wing scorn for their less-than-arch-conservative vetting of News Feed sources and Google Search algorithms.

Every day we grow more dependent on our phones and apps to do our chores, our jobs, and our socializing. And every quarter the enormous corporate giants of Big Tech take over more sectors of the economy. With the growing reliance on this industry it’s time crack the code of the economic dynamics that drive these companies to become near-monopolies very early, and the unique forms of “platform power” each once possesses.

As Silicon Valley rises to become co-dominant with Wall Street in the halls of corporate power, this book playfully dissects the tech monopolies with humor and a plan to secure our privacy and expand our freedom—socializing the Big Tech platforms.

“Highly informed, lively and readable, this is a badly needed study of the giant high tech corporations that increasingly dominate the means of work and social interaction, amass and scrutinize the details of our lives, seek to shape attitudes and behavior, and like the great virtual monopolies of the past both rely on state power and heavily influence it. Beyond exposing the nature of this awesome and threatening system, Larson goes on to outline how it can, and should, be brought under popular control. A most valuable contribution to understanding and guide to action.”

Noam Chomsky

“Bit Tyrants is an important primer to an age spinning out of control.”

LitHub

OTHER TITLES BY THIS AUTHOR:

Mastering the Universe: The Obscene Wealth of the Ruling Class, What They Do with Their Money, and Why You Should Hate Them Even More