Papers · Articles

Why Google, Apple, Meta, GitHub, and Microsoft Get to Decide If You Exist

A. C. Applebee, L. N. Combe · 2026

Abstract

Five corporations -- Google, Apple, Meta, GitHub, and Microsoft -- currently function as de facto identity authorities for the majority of the world's digital population. Disabling a Google account eliminates access to email, documents, photos, calendars, authentication tokens, and in many cases the ability to use an Android phone. Apple controls app distribution, payment identity, and device activation for over 2.2 billion devices. Meta owns the social graph of 3.7 billion people. GitHub gates access to the infrastructure of modern software. Microsoft controls enterprise identity for over 1.2 billion Office 365 users. None of these companies were elected. None were appointed. None were granted this authority by any democratic process. They assumed it because we authenticated with them, stored our data with them, and built our professional and social lives on their platforms. This paper examines how identity became privatized, what it costs, and why the alternative -- mutual physical attestation between humans -- requires no corporation at all.

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