The "GAFAM": New Actors in International Relations

Companies specializing in the design and marketing of digital technology, in this case the GAFAMs, are rapidly becoming major players in international politics, and the digital economy has thus become a new geopolitical axis. These companies are exercising a form of sovereignty over a rapidly expanding domain that extends beyond the reach of regulators, namely the digital space, while establishing a de facto hegemony within it.Drawing on their financial strength, social influence and political power, these technology behemoths are in many ways encroaching on the territory of the nation-state and on the scope of its sovereign powers. Like many Chinese technology firms, GAFAMs enter the arena of international rivalry when they establish diplomatic ties or choose to be closely linked to a state. At the same time, GAFAMs make their impact on international affairs known by modifying or suspending certain services in a country to express concerns, spread ideologies and show support for a particular camp.