Anti-corporate activists believe that the increasingly massive corporations are becoming equally immune to the law. These corporations, they believe, are invading people's privacy, manipulating politics and governments, and psychologically influencing the public at large to their own benefit. Some evidence that supports this belief includes invasive advertising (adware, spam, telemarketing, etc.), massive corporate campaign contributions in democratic elections, national news stories about corporate corruption (Martha Stewart and Enron, for example), and various anti-corporate books (most notably the science fiction novel Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell). They believe that corporations answer only to shareholders, giving human rights and other issues secondary importance. They believe that multi-national corporations can shop around (either directly, or through subcontractors) to find nations with laws conveniently lienant on corporations' dealings with human rights, the environment, and other factors. These corporations, anti-corporate philosophy states, no longer serve their home countries and need to be exposed and shamed for their illegal and immoral activities.

Critics of this philosophy argue governments pass plenty of laws restricting the actions of corporations and that lawbreaking companies and executives are routinely caught and punished. Corporation leaders, the critics say, are not inherently more evil than anyone else and so are no more likely to attempt atrocities or large-scale criminal activity than the general population, nor are they immune to prosecution.

Anti-corporate activists often allie themselves with other activists, such as environmental activists or animal-rights activists in an attempt to help level the field against what they see as a much more powerful opponent.

A well-known fictional anti-corporate activist is Larry Finkelstein on the TV show Dharma & Greg.

A well-known anti-corporate organization is Greenpeace.