Big tech earning £200k per person from data of each internet user in UK, report finds

Big Tech companies are harvesting up to £200,000 worth of data from every internet user in the UK, according to a new report.

The report, released by not-for-profit organisation the Web3 Foundation, claims that Big Tech and AI companies extract nearly £200,000 in commercial value from each UK and European internet user over the course of a digital lifetime.

The total is estimated at £94 trillion across the global population over six decades — the equivalent of almost five years of full-time pay in the UK, using the ONS 2025 annual earnings benchmark of £39,039.

Internet usage is not free, the report argues, with each user paying through the vast amounts of their personal data which is collected and stored.

Searches, purchases, locations, messages and behavioural data are routinely collected and monetised by some of the world’s most powerful tech companies.

This often comes with little transparency or user control, the report states.

Gavin Wood, founder of the Web3 Foundation, said the internet operates on a hidden trade-off, where users receive the convenience of services such as search engines, social media and apps, but in return have their activity tracked and collected to an extent many people remain unaware of.

“This report helps expose the scale of that imbalance,” he said.

“The modern digital economy is powered by human data, yet the people generating that value have little visibility, control or participation in the upside.”

But the internet does not have to be this way, the report suggests.

Web3 promotes a different way of building the internet. Instead of relying on large centralised platforms that control and profit from user data, Web3 uses decentralised systems designed 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, where users hand over their data, identity and value in exchange for access to services.

“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.

“As AI accelerates and data becomes even more valuable, building a more transparent, user-led internet is becoming increasingly urgent.”