You're right that lock-in isn't just about one application. Like a wall, it's made up of multiple bricks. But different bricks matter more to different customers: for some people (usually teenagers who have relatively little data invested in other apps) the blue-bubbles iMessage is the most important brick, for older users it's usually the piles of data in cloud services, password manager, photo library or purchased media. Typically companies use some features to bring people into their ecosystem, then gradually them in with all the others.
Unfortunately our anti-trust laws were written in the 19th century, so they deal with very specific types of anti-competitive behavior. Modern tech firms basically grew up in an environment where the goal was to maintain the absolute minimal level of competition and user choice that stays within the law.
Unfortunately our anti-trust laws were written in the 19th century, so they deal with very specific types of anti-competitive behavior. Modern tech firms basically grew up in an environment where the goal was to maintain the absolute minimal level of competition and user choice that stays within the law.