APAC consumers dislike reliance on too few big tech companies

Source: Internet Society website.

A survey* from the Internet Society, a global non-profit dedicated to the open development, evolution and use of the Internet, reveals that nearly all consumers (96%) in the Asia-Pacific region (APAC) depend in some way on "big tech" companies for their products and services for their online activities, but are uneasy with this dependence.

This year's Asia Pacific Internet Policy Insights surveyed more than 1,300 people from across 39 economies in the region. The study focused on consolidation in the Internet economy with the goal of understanding the growing influence of a handful of dominant players in the online world. The survey also delves into how this is shaping the online landscape and the functionality of the Internet.

With virtually all (96%) respondents highlighting their dependence on large platforms, it is clear that the largest players are dominating vast swathes of the Internet. This includes Facebook and Tencent in social networks, Google and Baidu in search, and Amazon and Alibaba in online shopping.

Close to half of the respondents, 47%, felt that these large players fully influenced how they accessed and used the Internet. And when those who felt they at least had partial influence are included, this figure shoots up to 95%.

The study notes that the success of these online platforms is linked to convenience and the ease of access to products and services. Consumers are aware that they will have a tough time finding alternatives for the services provided by these companies. Just five out of every 100 respondents believe it would be very easy to find a suitable replacement. And only a third of those surveyed (34%) felt that they had more choices today than they did five years ago.

Despite the current dependence on big tech, the majority of consumers in the region would like to see more choice in the market, with 60% of those surveyed highlighting that they would like to have the ability to choose products and services from more than just five companies.

The top five categories that consumers would like to see more choices in are:

1. E-commerce websites

2. Search engines

3. Social media platforms

4. Email providers

5. Messaging apps

However, whilst they may wish to see increasing choice, consumers in the region remain unconvinced that smaller alternatives are safe. Only 16% of those surveyed indicated having high or very high levels of trust for small companies on the Internet. This is versus 53% who felt the same about big companies on the Internet.

The Asia-Pacific Policy Survey found that security has come out tops once again. Security and trust are the main concerns for the region's Internet users for the third year in a row. Consumers are also beginning to pay more attention to the need for consumer protection.

For the first time since the survey started in 2014, Internet users have cited consumer protection as a top-five concern in terms of public policy. The new focus could signify rising awareness of the need for consumer rights to be addressed.

The top five Internet-related policy issues this year are:

Cybersecurity (79% of respondents)
Access (75%)
Data protection (73%)
Privacy (70%)
Consumer protection (64%)

"This year's report will help policymakers and other decision-makers in the region understand that digital consolidation involves a complex set of issues. While people benefit from big tech's products and services, they are clearly concerned about associated security and privacy threats, and they also want more choice," said Rajnesh Singh, APAC Regional Director of the Internet Society.

"The desire of Internet users in the region to have a variety of service providers to choose from suggests that policymakers need to make sure that policies targeted at developing the digital economy do not favour only the large players, but nurture and cultivate small- and medium-sized firms," he adds.

The Internet Society is also the organisational home of the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF). Earlier this year, the Internet Society published the 2019 Global Internet Report on this issue as a starting point for exploring whether the Internet economy is consolidating and, if it is, what the implications might be for the future of digital communications, connectivity, and commerce.

*A total of 1,322 individuals from 39 economies across Asia-Pacific answered the survey, which was conducted on Survey Monkey from July 1-July 31, 2019. It was divided into three main sections: the first set of questions aimed to solicit views on consolidation in the Internet economy, while the second section sought to identify the top Internet-related policy concerns in the region. The third section helped to determine the profile of the sample population.

Over half of the respondents self-identified as residing in or originating from South Asia (56%), with the rest coming from Southeast Asia (21%); Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands (13%); and East Asia (10%). Respondents are scattered across all age groups, but lean towards a younger demographic - 15% are 15-24 years old, 31% are aged 25-34, another 31% are 35-44, and the remaining 23% are 45 years or older. 

Respondents were quite evenly distributed across stakeholder groups - 25% are with the private sector, 22% with academia, 21% with the technical community, 20% with civil society (including non-governmental organisations, media, individuals and students) and 12% with government.By decree, Engineer Azza bint Sulaiman bin Said Al-Ismailiya is now the Minister of Technology and Communications.