Ring, Cloudflare, and the Supply Chain of State Capacity
Here's something that might surprise you — companies like Ring and Cloudflare are playing roles nearly identical to government functions. Byrne Hobart points out that these highly horizontal firms, which handle a huge chunk of our digital and social infrastructure, end up regulating and shaping society in ways that blur the line between private enterprise and public authority. For example, Cloudflare’s network architecture is built to handle billions of requests, making it critical infrastructure that’s effectively part of the legal system — setting standards, enforcing rules, and even helping regulate AI use. Meanwhile, companies like Ring are transforming neighborhood security into a kind of surveillance state — boosting safety but at the cost of privacy. Hobart emphasizes that these firms often have pricing power similar to utilities, and as they grow, they compete with governments, creating a new kind of layered, private governance. The takeaway? As private firms extend their influence, the traditional boundaries of state capacity are shifting — meaning, the future of regulation might look less like government and more like giant platforms.
