‘It takes a lot to get Tim Cook, Sundar Pichai, Jeff Bezos, and Mark Zuckerberg in the same room. It’s happening today at an anti-trust hearing happening in Congress. Officially, the hearing is called: Online Platforms and Market Power, Part 6: Examining the Dominance of Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google. If past hearings are any indicator, however, we can expect a sweeping range of questions ranging from poignant probes to pointless grandstanding on both sides of the chamber.
Apple, Facebook, Amazon, and Google are massive companies and both political parties have made cases to limit their reach and overall market influence. This is the first time Jeff Bezos will appear in front of Congress.
The hearing will include hours of testimony, some of which will use many words to say very little. So, settle in and watch above or read on for some of the high points from the event.
Why is this happening?
The panel has been conducting a year-long investigation regarding the way in which big tech companies operate. Each individual company has its own specific issues to address when it comes to competition and transparency. Apple, for instance, will likely answer for its policy, which takes 30 percent of the revenue from app sales while keeping developers locked onto its platform if they want to access the massive installation base of iPhone users. Google will face questions about its Android operating system, as well as its ever-changing system for presenting search results to customers making inquiries on its site. This is already familiar territory for Facebook—Mark Zuckerberg has made multiple appearances in front of Congress to answer queries on everything from its role as a platform versus as a publisher and perceived political bias in its content moderation. For Amazon, competition will be the primary topic of conversation as the online retail giant grows rapidly, especially during the pandemic.
Opening statements
Chairman Mr. Cicilline doesn’t hesitate to call out how each company stands to benefit from the global effects of COVID-19. He nicely sums up the complaints about these large companies and their ability to force out smaller players and guide innovation efforts. He compares the companies to small governments in and of themselves. The statement clearly tries to lay out high stakes.
Ranking member Mr. Sensenbrenner introduces the idea that the current anti-competition laws may not be equipped to handle the sheer size of the tech companies. He’s the first to use the phrase “public square” which you should expect to hear a lot during this hearing. He also directly suggests that the companies may be “silencing conservative voices,” which will also likely come up a lot.
Rep, Nadler cuts right to the main point and compares big tech platforms to infrastructure. We’re calling back to the early days of the U.S. during the development of the railroads.
Mr. Jordan uses his statement to list examples of times he believes tech has tried to “silence conservatives.” Many examples come from Twitter, which isn’t at the hearing.
Testimony
Jeff Bezos gets the first opportunity to speak (you can read his prepared comments here). He starts off with biographical information about his parents. He says that 80 percent of Americans have a favorable view of Amazon. He points out that Amazon operates as a platform that has invited others to come and sell stuff on the technology Amazon built.
Sundar Pichai has the best-looking webcam and office setup. You can read his prepared statement here. He mentions that there are 140 million students and teachers using G Suite during the pandemic. He injects some comments about his upbringing as well. Presumably they have all seen the comments about Zuck’s “robotic” demeanor during past hearings and are trying to avoid it. Google says it’s spending $26 billion in research and development every year. That’s a 10x growth in a decade. He mentions how Android doesn’t require licensing fees, which is clearly aimed at Apple.
from Popular Science | RSS https://www.popsci.com/story/technology/tech-ceos-congressional-hearing-competition-transparency/
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