In these modern times, we have the freedom to select and consume a wide variety of information, right? Well! not quite. We have access to huge flows of information, but did you know that most of those flows actually come from very few sources? Consider the general effects of this current format and ask yourself what information you see each day is provided by a large corporation and what they can benefit from it.

Next, ask how many different people are affected by this. The truth is that everyone is. The client, news reporter, filmmaker, artist, and advertiser are controlled by monopolies that allow us to share our creative works or see what they choose for us to see.

This is not the first time that information monopolization has occurred. One hundred years ago, in 1913, AT&T (Ma Bell) became the main telecommunications monopoly. They even warned of an antitrust lawsuit convincing the President of the United States that it was for the good of society that they should be allowed to sustain their enormous size.

In 1982, their luck ran out and the government won a court order, causing them to split into seven operating companies known as Baby Bells over antitrust violations again. Still, it didn’t stop them, as they even now live to rebuild. Between 1995 and 2005, SBC acquired four of the seven baby chimes and in 2006 they were renamed At & T. While Verizon along with Comcast bought $ 3.6 billion in wireless spectrum, plus recent reports of the Comcast and Time merger. Warner … 6 of the 7 Baby Bells will reunite and become part of an even larger corporate telecommunications monopoly, Comast- Time Warner!

Now realizing, this monopoly controls much more than our phones … Our TV shows, news, sports, movies, and even the ads that play in between are in your hands. You can see that everything will be heavily influenced by financial philosophies, ideas, and motivations from a single source. Note that they are doing it with the same false claim that it is for the good of all of us, they say it will cost less if everything is packed tightly. It’s worth it? Is the loss of truth, options, and creative competition worth the cost of packing up?

A more extensive list of dangers associated with an information monopoly is available, but some highlights are: sensationalism of products and activities that financially benefit the monopoly and censorship of truthful information that could harm its success and survival. When you consider the wide spectrum of information control that these giant monopolies have, it is not difficult to begin to look at what we observe through an enhanced lens of speculation.