While the internet promised disruption of consumption, middlemen still reign supreme and have a strong hold on online commerce, Kathryn Judge, a law professor at Columbia University argued in a June 9 Atlantic article.
Bill Gates argued in 1995 that the invention of the internet would remove middlemen stating "often the only humans involved in a transaction will be the actual buyer and seller". That has been far from the truth though.
From online shopping to ordering food, most consumers go through a middleman service that takes a cut of a sale, instead of ordering directly from the business. New forms of middlemen, like Amazon or DoorDash have increasing power, and are taking more money from both creators, according to Ms. Judge.
While the middlemen services can help customers save time and offer convenience, cutting them out can shift more power into the hands of the creators of the products, argues Ms. Judge.