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Tech CEOs to Face Questions About Their Dominance at US House Hearing

Michelle Quinn

   SAN FRANCISCO - They control the digital spaces where many around the
   world spend their time, shop,work,andtalk to friends and family.

   Together, thecompanies'combined annual sales are roughly the same as
   the gross domestic product of Saudi Arabia, as [1]Axios notes.

   Now the CEOs of four top U.S. technology companies-- Apple, Amazon,
   Facebook and Google -- are set to answer questionsWednesdayin front of
   the House [2]Judiciarysubcommittee onantitrustabout how they wield
   their considerable market power.

   Deposition for the world

   The hearing comes as federal and state regulators are looking into
   whether the tech giants, through their dominance in some markets,stifle
   competition.

   The joint appearance of Tim Cookof Apple, Mark Zuckerbergof Facebook,
   Sundar Pichaiof Googleand Jeff Bezosof Amazonis a sign of how high the
   stakes are for the future of their businesses, legal observers say.
   Critics, customers and regulators globally will be watching.

   "This is a deposition for the whole world," said William Kovacic, a
   former Federal Trade Commission member and now a law professor at
   George Washington University.

   Asking the questions will be the 15 members of the House
   Judiciaryantitrust subcommittee, lawmakersfromboth political parties,
   who have spent the past year looking into antitrust and competition
   concerns with each firm.

   The reporton their probeis expected at the end of the summer,butthe
   lawmakers' questions will likely reveal what they have learned and some
   of their thinking about what they may do next,legal expertssay.

   A first for Amazon's Bezos

   The hearing, in many ways, is unprecedented.Never beforehave these CEOs
   appeared together in front of a congressional hearing, albeit over
   video conference due to the coronavirus pandemic.

   It will be the first time Jeff Bezos, founder and chief executive of
   Amazon and the richest person in the world, will testify before
   Congress.

   "Thisis an important accountability exercise," Kovacicsaid. "It does
   demonstrate that the branches of government responsible for high-level
   policymaking have the capacity to hold these powerful executives and
   their extraordinary companies to account. So that's important. To
   remind them who does set larger policy."

   Daniel Crane, a law professor at the University of Michigan, said the
   hearing is an opportunity for the tech leaders to show they understand
   concerns about the power they have over people's lives.

   "That's what I'm hoping to hear, these CEOs saying, 'We hear you, we
   hear the concerns that are being expressed, and here is the way we come
   to the table to be part of the solution,'" Crane said.

   Changedtonein Washington

   The hearing also shines a spotlight on U.S. regulators and lawmakers,
   whose job it is to set policies and enforce laws that stop firms from
   using their market dominance to kill competition. They have been under
   increasing criticism from some antitrust experts that the government's
   oversight of these giants has been weak, especially compared to
   stronger enforcement in Europe.

   In recent years, the tone has changed in Washington from one of caution
   about taking on Big Tech to one of resolve that somethinghas tobe done,
   Kovacicsaid.

   "U.S.agencies are also weary of watching the Europeans do everything
   and realizing that policy in a variety of areas--privacy, competition
   --is being set in Europe. And if the U.S. doesn't play, it will
   continue to be set in Europe," he said.

   Sally Hubbard, director of enforcement strategy at the Open Markets
   Institute, a competition think tank,said shewill watch the hearing for
   signs that lawmakers want to pursue "robust enforcement."

   On her anti-monopoly wish list is"structural breakups" of the tech
   giants and blocking companies from buying smallercompanies seen as
   threats.

   "These problems are really deep and reallywidespread,and we need to
   really use the wholeanti-monopolytool kit to address them,"saidHubbard,
   a former assistant attorney general for antitrust enforcement in the
   New York attorney general's office.

   Lawmakers' challenge

   Lawmakers can't chargethe tech companieswith antitrust violations or
   attempt to break them into smaller entities.

   But what they can do is change the laws and put pressure on regulators
   at the Federal Trade Commission and the U.S. Department of Justice to
   do more to enforce existing regulations.

   The Justice Department is reportedly likelyto bring antitrust lawsuits
   against Google. State regulators may join the Justice Department or
   pursue their own cases, [3]according to reports.

   Part ofthe challenge lawmakers faceat the hearing will be that while
   Apple, Google, Facebook and Amazon are the Who's Who of internet firms,
   in fact their businesses are not really the same.

   Still, the policies set by lawmakers in the months and years ahead will
   likely affect Big Tech for years to come.

References

   1. https://www.axios.com/big-techs-power-in-4-numbers-de8a5bc3-65b6-4064-a7cb-3466c68b2ea0.html
   2. https://judiciary.house.gov/calendar/eventsingle.aspx?EventID=3113
   3. https://www.wsj.com/articles/justice-department-state-attorneys-general-likely-to-bring-antitrust-lawsuits-against-google-11589573622

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