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Theft, censorship and the 'emperors of the online economy': US tech CEOs go on defense

Thursday, 30 July 2020 12:57 AM [ Last Update: Thursday, 30 July 2020 1:48 AM ]

(From left to right) Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, Apple CEO Tim Cook, Google's Sundar Pichai and Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg

Four of the nation's most powerful CEOs beamed into a Capitol Hill hearing Wednesday and raised their hands to swear to tell the truth as they faced a barrage of questions on one major issue: Are their companies too big and powerful for America's good?

Lawmakers hammered Google Sundar Pichai about his company's relations with China and whether it steals ideas from other businesses, Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg about a blizzard of disinformation plaguing his social network, and Apple CEO Tim Cook on whether his iPhone-maker strong-arms developers on its App Store.

Perhaps surprisingly, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos — making his long-awaited first-ever appearance before a congressional hearing — had faced no question nearly two hours into the session.

The virtual testimony, in a hearing of the House Judiciary Committee's antitrust subcommittee, comes at a time of rising legal jeopardy for the major tech companies, who are the subject of antitrust and consumer-protection probes in Washington, multiple U.S. states and Europe.

Subcommittee Chairman David Cicilline (D-R.I.) set the tone early, with an opening statement vowing to check the power of the "emperors of the online economy." But so did Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan, the top Republican on the full Judiciary panel, who laid out a long series of alleged slights against conservatives by top social media companies — and later got into a shouting match after a Democrat accused him of promoting “fringe conspiracy theories.”

Source: Politico

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