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The United States House of Representatives Committee on the Judiciary will conduct a hearing including CEOs of tech giants Google, Facebook, Amazon and Apple for its ongoing competition probe on July 27.
“On Monday, July 27th at 12:00PM ET, the House Judiciary Antitrust Subcommittee will hold a hearing with the CEOs of Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google, who will testify as part of the Committee’s ongoing investigation of competition in the digital marketplace,” the House Judiciary Committee said in an official statement.
The US House of Representatives Committee earlier this month had written a letter to Apple, Alphabet, Amazon and Facebook asking them to confirm if the CEOs will testify in the committee’s ongoing probe into tech competition. The letter had also hinted at possible subpoenas for testimony if the CEOs disagree to testify in the hearing voluntarily.
Amazon’s attorney Robert Kelner of Covington and Burling LLP had earlier confirmed Amazon’s compliance with the probe.
The hearing on “Online Platforms and Market Power, Part 6: Examining the Dominance of Amazon, Facebook, Google, and Apple” will now have Jeff Bezos, CEO, Amazon, Tim Cook, CEO, Apple, Sundar Pichai, CEO, Google and Mark Zuckerberg, CEO, Facebook as witnesses.
“Since last June, the Subcommittee has been investigating the dominance of a small number of digital platforms and the adequacy of existing antitrust laws and enforcement. Given the central role these corporations play in the lives of the American people, it is critical that their CEOs are forthcoming. As we have said from the start, their testimony is essential for us to complete this investigation,” the Committee said in a joint statement.
The CEOs are likely to face a barrage of questions on their business practices, especially Amazon. The retail giant has been under the scanner for anti-trust probes. Bezos had also been summoned for an investigation into its business practices and its treatment of its online sellers earlier in May following a report of unethical practices related to third-party sellers.
The CEOs can also appear virtually for the trial as per the new guidelines, the Committee said.
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