The idea of "big" technology companies had entered the public consciousness around 2013, as some economists saw signs of these companies gaining appreciable dominance without any regulation, and were no longer considered disruptive start-up companies following the early 2000s Dot-com bubble. The term became popularized and labeled as "Big Tech" around 2017 in the wake of the investigation into possible Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections, as the roles that these technology companies has played with access to wide amounts of user data or big data and ability to influence their users came under Congressional review. The use of "Big Tech" was similar to how the largest oil companies were grouped under Big Oil following the 1970s energy crisis, or how the major cigarette producers were grouped as Big Tobacco as Congress began seeking regulation on that industry.[1]