A new report from the Web3 Foundation claims that Big Tech and AI companies extract up to £194,000 in commercial value from each UK internet user over a digital lifetime. The total value across the global population over six decades is estimated at £94 trillion, equivalent to nearly five years of full-time UK pay based on the ONS 2025 annual earnings benchmark of £39,039.
The report identifies Amazon, Alphabet, Anthropic, Microsoft, and Meta as among the largest beneficiaries, allegedly extracting up to £1,000 annually from a single user's personal data. It argues that internet usage is not free, with users paying through vast amounts of personal data collected and stored, including searches, purchases, locations, messages, and behavioural data.
Gavin Wood, founder of the Web3 Foundation, stated that the internet operates on a hidden trade-off where users receive convenience in exchange for having their activity tracked and collected, often without transparency or user control. He said, 'This report helps expose the scale of that imbalance. The modern digital economy is powered by human data, yet the people generating that value have little visibility, control or participation in the upside.'
The report suggests that Web3 offers an alternative model using decentralised systems to give individuals greater control over their identity, digital assets, and online activity. VP Bill Laboon said, 'For decades, digital platforms have been built around centralised control... Web3 represents a fundamentally different model, one where individuals can own their digital assets, verify their identity without surrendering personal information and participate more fairly in the online economy.'
