Issue Policy fragmentation reinforcing technology giants

Summary

The report suggests that policy fragmentation splitting the internet into regional digital islands could further entrench the dominance of technology giants. Risk would then become concentrated in a few firms, while smaller innovators are pushed further to the margins. A handful of global technology companies already have billions of users and a combined market value of almost seven trillion dollars, dominating hardware, software, operating systems and cloud computing. The report links two chronic risks, arguing that greater reliance on digital platforms could give technology companies more monopoly power. In response, the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 gave the Competition and Markets Authority new powers to address competition problems involving the most powerful digital platforms.