Anadolu CEO Karagoz warns of Big Tech’s growing grip on information

ISTANBUL

Anadolu’s president and CEO on Monday highlighted the growing dominance of major tech companies in the digital information space, raising concerns about the concentration of power.

Serdar Karagoz made the remarks at the 2nd News Copyright and AI in Media Symposium, organized by Anadolu and Istanbul’s Bogazici University with support from Türkiye’s Culture and Tourism Ministry.

Karagoz cited data from the Reuters Institute, which found that 62% of people worldwide use social media platforms for news consumption, with 48% reacting to the information they encounter.

Karagoz questioned whether information is being distributed democratically in the digital space, asserting that big technology companies including artificial intelligence are rapidly monopolizing. “Today, the distribution of information is in the hands of these large tech companies.”

He underlined that companies and platforms such as Google, Meta, and Instagram have established monopolies in the dissemination of information, saying that journalists and news producers can only distribute their news as much as these companies allow.

Financial impact on journalists

Karagoz highlighted Anadolu’s significant contributions to media, producing 4,000 pieces of content daily, including photos, videos, infographics, and news articles.

Yet, he said, the financial rewards generated from such content through the effect of these search engines often do not reach their reporters.

"Today, we observe a decline in the quality of media content both globally and in our country. Regardless of their political or ideological stance or editorial policy, there is a widespread lack of quality across all types of media outlets. The reason for this lies in media owners not seeing this field as sufficiently profitable and therefore refraining from making the necessary investments."

“The most critical issue for improving media quality in Türkiye is liberating media financing,” Karagoz said. “So economic benefits generated from content production in the media must reach journalists and news and content producers.”

Karagoz highlighted the profound transformation digitalization has brought to all aspects of life.

Regardless of whether societies are developed, developing, or underdeveloped, they are all undergoing a rapid adaptation process to the innovative and dizzying changes in the media world, he said.

“This transformation is altering behavioral codes and changing interpersonal, commercial, and social relationships,” he said. “Traditional media is fighting for survival in this process, and is almost on life support. Conventional media companies that have not embraced digital reform and innovation are struggling and shrinking more every day.”

The symposium, held at Istanbul’s Bogazici University, brought together media professionals, legal experts, academics, and technology specialists to address the challenges posed by digitalization in the media sector.