While acknowledging that consumers may benefit in the short term, the FCA suggests that Big Tech companies might be able to “exploit their ecosystems” and large data stores to “lock consumers in”, as in other markets where they already face regulatory scrutiny, such as mobile app stores.
“We do think it’s important given the scale, given the large capital reserves that some of those firms could have to support entry, that we’re starting to understand how competition might develop in our markets,” Mills said.