I'm glad with this decision. Not sure the exact logic makes sense, but in general the top US tech companies (Google, Amazon, MS, Meta, Apple) are too big. They wield huge power and can snuff out entire startup sectors with loss-leading products.
The argument is always 'but we don't have a monopoly in this artificially small sector X', however I don't think that argument is the one we should be looking at when the companies involved are $1trillion+.
Can we prove exact consumer harm in each case? No. However, I think most people can accept that there's a risk to consumers, markets, and democracy if companies become too big.
Edit. Seeing a lot of comments saying UK couldn't function without Microsoft which kind of supports my point.
The argument is always 'but we don't have a monopoly in this artificially small sector X', however I don't think that argument is the one we should be looking at when the companies involved are $1trillion+.
Can we prove exact consumer harm in each case? No. However, I think most people can accept that there's a risk to consumers, markets, and democracy if companies become too big.
Edit. Seeing a lot of comments saying UK couldn't function without Microsoft which kind of supports my point.