Antitrust tech audience: what to expect from Apple, Facebook, Amazon, Google

• Technology CEOs of Apple, Google, Amazon and Facebook will appear before Congress in a first-of-their-kind hearing on Wednesday.
• They will testify as part of an antitrust investigation into the dominance of digital platforms that has been running since last June. CEOs, who will likely appear remotely via video, will have to defend the growing power of their tech companies against skeptical lawmakers.
• Here’s why each CEO has been asked to appear, the types of questions that are likely to be asked, and how the day will unfold.
• Visit the Business Insider home page for more stories.

The CEOs of four tech giants will appear before Congress next week, where they will have to defend the growing power of their companies against skeptical lawmakers.

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, Apple CEO Tim Cook, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, and Sundar Pichai of Alphabet, owner of Google and YouTube, will testify as part of an ongoing investigation by the Antitrust Subcommittee on the Judiciary of the Chamber on the domain of digital platforms.

Since June, the subcommittee has held hearings with smaller competitors, who have testified about the alleged monopolistic practices of these giants. Now, the four tech titans will appear together to answer questions based on the committee’s findings.

The hearing is scheduled for Wednesday noon EST, sources say to Axios, after it was postponed starting Monday due to a memorial for the late representative John Lewis.

Due to the ongoing global pandemic, CEOs are expected to appear remotely via video calling software. Lawmakers hope to finish the hearings in one day, and considering the plethora of problems on the table, that will not be an easy task.

Here’s why each CEO has been asked to appear, the types of questions they are likely to receive, and what is at stake for each company.

Google

Google is currently the subject of multiple antitrust investigations by numerous state attorneys general, but Wednesday will be the first time since 2018 that we will see CEO Sundar Pichai go to Congress.

Lawmakers are likely to focus on Google’s dominance in the search and advertising market, so they expect them to ask Pichai if the company has maintained a fair playing field and how it has.

Bloomberg recently reported that Google’s search changes have made it more expensive for online businesses to reach customers; Expect the committee to research Google on these kinds of issues as it tries to unpack a very complex digital business.

Lawmakers may also question how Google’s digital advertising business has benefited from toxic content online. Similarly, they can also ask about hate speech on YouTube, although some of these topics could divert attention from antitrust issues.

Finally, Google may be asked about China. In fact, it was Representative David Cicilline from Rhode Island who questioned Pichai in China during the 2018 hearing, and the topic has come up recently with reports that the company is still trying to find ways to enter the market.

Congress could also question Google about the antitrust investigations it currently faces in several different states. Earlier this month, Politico reported that California was preparing to launch its own investigation into the company, becoming the 49th state to do so.

Apple

To date, Apple has managed to avoid a bigger antitrust reaction than other members on this list, but there is growing concern among lawmakers that the company’s App Store and the broader app ecosystem are hurting developers.

Apple has restrictive rules for App Store developers, including a 15-30% tax on in-app purchases that third parties have argued is unfair, although Apple says it is in line with competitor fees. Spotify has been one of the loudest on the subject, and last month Basecamp, developer of the email app Hey, also made its claims public.

The App Store is Apple’s second largest revenue generator after the iPhone, but Apple’s own apps aren’t subject to the same rules as third-party ones, and it’s long been argued that this gives Apple another unfair advantage. about the competition.

One particularly murky area is Apple’s approval process for new apps, so expect lawmakers to try to test some of the secret mechanisms behind the scenes.

How do we know that Apple is taking it seriously? He recently commissioned a study in defense of the 30% cut, which he says is similar to that charged by Google, Amazon and others. That may be true, but the committee is likely less interested in the comparable size of the revenue share and more interested in the other ways that Apple might be hurting developers.

Facebook

Facebook is likely to face scrutiny over its past acquisitions, which critics say Facebook has used as a tactic to neutralize threats from competition.

The company acquired Giphy earlier this year for $ 400 million, which set off antitrust alarms: Critics said Giphy’s reach on the web could help expand Facebook’s already massive ad-tracking operation.

Facebook has bought a lot of small and large companies in the 16 years since its founding. Its acquisition of Instagram and WhatsApp in 2012 and 2014, respectively, consolidated Facebook as a global technology giant. In 2013, Facebook bought Onavo Mobile, an application that uses artificial intelligence to identify other companies that could make good purchases. (Facebook then closed the app after a controversy.)

The Federal Trade Commission is already investigating Facebook about its recent acquisitions.

Lawmakers are also likely to question Facebook’s measures to stop the spread of disinformation and hate speech on its platform, especially amid the COVID-19 pandemic and the lead-up to the 2020 election. Those questions dominated. Zuckerberg’s latest Congressional testimony, which had been framed as an audience for Facebook’s cryptocurrency firm.

Facebook has faced prolonged backlash from Democrats over its refusal to verify President Donald Trump’s posts and campaign ads. Scientists and public health authorities have also reported the spread of the misinformation COVID-19 on the platform.

Amazon

Amazon has already come under heavy scrutiny by antitrust regulators in the past year for its treatment of third-party companies that sell products through its website.

An investigation by the Wall Street Journal in April found that Amazon frequently used data collected from third-party vendors on its site to shape plans to develop its own private label products, that disclosure launched an antitrust investigation into the company in the EU. .

More recently, dozens of investors and entrepreneurs told The Wall Street Journal that Amazon invested in their companies, gaining access to private information, before launching competitors. Many of the startups were crushed in the process and said they couldn’t compete with Amazon once it launched its own service. Amazon denied the allegations that it used confidential information. “Any legitimate intellectual property dispute is properly resolved in court,” a spokesperson told Business Insider.

Amazon may also face more topical questions about the COVID-19 pandemic, which has caused an unexpected surge in online orders and has strained Amazon’s fulfillment centers.

Worker safety in Amazon warehouses has been a point of discussion. Several workers went on strike earlier this year to protest working conditions, and since then several Amazon warehouse workers have been killed by the coronavirus. Amazon insists that it has provided extensive protective equipment and has cleaned its tanks regularly to reduce transmission.

Wednesday’s hearings will also mark the first time CEO Jeff Bezos has testified before Congress in the company’s history. His history of disputes with President Trump and ownership of The Washington Post may also be a matter of question.