What do a spat over the taxes that Google and Amazon pay in the UK and a multinational conference on the internet taking place in Dubai have in common?

On the face of it, not very much. But they are united by at least one thing: a growing awareness of the immense power – and profits – of some of the richest US technology companies. As many countries struggle with their own dire fiscal positions, this conspicuous success has become hard to ignore. Less friendly tax regimes and encroaching regulation are becoming a very real threat.