For decades, US multinationals in the tech sector paved the way to the monopolisation of data and consumer-focused services. The strategy behind this push was competitive in its nature at the start, only to shift to more ossified business models as the market power of their platforms increased. Like the railroads barons of the distant past, Google, Apple, Facebook and Amazon all invested heavily in product differentiation and innovation at the early stages of their development. And, like the railroad barons before them, they pursued scale by fuelling early competition with incumbent service providers. Yet, once their pioneering product offers…

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