"The digital economy and the development of digital platforms have brought considerable benefits to society. Through these platforms, consumers can communicate with their loved ones, optimise their journeys, monitor their health and have access to many innovative services. The platforms also offer new opportunities for businesses, such as overcoming geographical distance or benefiting from efficient management services. Finally, public services also benefit from access to digital technologies to improve their productivity and accessibility. However, these benefits come along with counterparts. Digital giants are criticised for weakening traditional activities and shifting value chains in the creative sector. In addition, many are now concerned about the adverse effects of the market power of these giants, making it difficult for potential competition to emerge. Indeed, digital technology creates a natural tendency towards concentration. This is primarily the result of economies of scale in the production of digital products or services, an activity generally considered to have high fixed costs. A second source of concentration is related to network effects in the consumption of digital goods: consumers will be more attracted by a company providing access to a large network, which will further strengthen its market position. Economies of scale and network effects favour the concentration of digital markets, with at the very extreme the domination by one single firm (winner-takes-all phenomenon).1 Added to this is the tendency of large digital companies to organise themselves in the form of conglomerates, such as the GAFAM (Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon and Microsoft). These digital conglomerates expand by developing new products or services to be included in their ecosystem, but also by waves of promising start-ups acquisitions..."

Support: Digital