Six brands account for more than half of global internet traffic: MAMAAN’s share falls, but its dominance continues

The six companies known as “MAMAAN” — Meta (Facebook and Instagram), Alphabet (Google), Microsoft, Apple, Amazon and Netflix — account for more than half of global internet traffic. TikTok and Disney+ are other major players. Together, they have a profound influence on the digital environment, consumer behaviour and future technology trends. Although these giants’ share has declined somewhat since 2023, their dominant position is intensifying calls for regulation. These findings come from an AppLogic analysis published by ComSource, a Czech company specialising in cybersecurity, network infrastructure and data analytics.

“Such a concentrated share of internet traffic brings users convenience and innovation, but also creates risks for content diversity, market fairness and data security. MAMAAN’s dominance understandably attracts greater attention from regulators and the public. It is also interesting that TikTok remains among the largest generators of internet traffic despite security concerns,” says Michal Štusák, co-owner of ComSource, AppLogic’s exclusive partner in Czechia. “Antitrust investigations and debates about privacy and user rights are now everyday issues. Network providers need to monitor not only traffic volumes but also traffic composition, and prepare for possible changes in user behaviour and legislation.”

Alphabet dominates search through Google and online video through YouTube, while Meta leads social networking through Facebook and Instagram. This makes them by far the largest players on mobile networks, where these two companies alone account for 47% of all traffic. TikTok ranks third with a 6% share. Their combined presence is substantially smaller on fixed networks, which include home Wi-Fi: Alphabet and Meta together account for 20%, and TikTok for 4%. Netflix stands out as the second-largest player on fixed networks with an 11% share, compared with just 3% on mobile networks. Other major contributors on fixed networks include Apple at 6%, Microsoft and Amazon at 5% each, and Disney+ at 4%. On mobile networks, Apple accounts for 4%, Netflix for 3%, and Microsoft and Amazon for 1% each.

“On fixed networks, the combined share of MAMAAN, Disney+ and TikTok fell by around ten percentage points of total internet traffic. The decrease on mobile networks was smaller, at four percentage points. Nevertheless, these major companies still account for 55% of fixed-network traffic and 64% of mobile traffic. Such a strong position for large technology companies is a double-edged sword in many respects. While users benefit from innovation and integrated services, market concentration can limit competition, content diversity and transparency in data handling. The internet’s future will therefore depend on finding a balance between encouraging innovation and ensuring a fair digital environment,” adds Michal Štusák of ComSource.