You make it sound like any government should be able to cut ties with any company at a whim.
Microsoft and Apple dominate the desktop market, with Microsoft in a commanding lead.
Imagine if the UK government said no one could buy SQL Server, use Excel, or buy new windows machines.
People and companies would have to spend unimaginable amounts of time learning and migrating to alternative tools while at the same time angry at the government for telling them they can't use the tool of their choice.
The same is true for Apple. If the UK government said Apple could no longer do business in the UK, the UK economy would be crushed.
> You make it sound like any government should be able to cut ties with any company at a whim.
Well, yes. An individual company should absolutely not be more powerful than an entire state. Yes, migrating away from Microsoft would be painful and expensive, but it must be possible, otherwise Microsoft can get whatever it wants from the UK on pains of pulling its business.
It's not just the UK. Munich famously tried to get away from Microsoft and failed. The reasons aren't entirely clear to me - rumor has it it's because of some deals behind closed doors - but I think it's obvious that many governments on all levels are fully dependent on Microsoft. I believe China is headed towards independence of Microsoft, though.
Microsoft and Apple dominate the desktop market, with Microsoft in a commanding lead.
Imagine if the UK government said no one could buy SQL Server, use Excel, or buy new windows machines.
People and companies would have to spend unimaginable amounts of time learning and migrating to alternative tools while at the same time angry at the government for telling them they can't use the tool of their choice.
The same is true for Apple. If the UK government said Apple could no longer do business in the UK, the UK economy would be crushed.