Debates around big tech and digital regulation can sometimes feel distant from the everyday concerns of voters. But the power that a small number of global tech companies hold over our lives goes far beyond what most people realise.

As chair of the parliamentary science, innovation and technology committee, I have spent years raising concerns about this: from the data they harvest and the digital “twins” they build of us, to the algorithms that decide what our children see.

But there’s a much less visible example of this imbalance of power sitting in the pocket of almost every smartphone user in Britain: the app tax. Apple and Google control the two app stores through which almost every mobile app in this country reaches its customers, and that position lets them set terms for app developers that most businesses would never accept from a supplier. Sell a subscription, game or piece of software through either app store and both companies now charge a commission of up to 30% on purchases made inside apps, regardless of what the product is or what it costs to make. With no alternative platforms, developers simply have to accept the terms set by Silicon Valley.

Developers are also prevented from........

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