Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google CEOs Antitrust Hearing Rescheduled for Wednesday

The antitrust congressional hearing with CEOs of tech giants, Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google has been moved to noon Eastern time on Wednesday.

The hearing was originally scheduled for Monday but was later rescheduled to Wednesday to allow members of Congress to pay their last respects to late Rep. John Lewis who died on July 17. Once that is over with, the House Judiciary Committee hearing will be held with Jeff Bezos, Tim Cook, Mark Zuckerberg, and Sundar Pichai.

The House hearing will feature antitrust issues involving each company. The antitrust hearing is part of a yearlong investigation into the anti-competitive behavior among tech companies. The hearing will be done remotely with adherence to the coronavirus social distancing safety guidelines. Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey was excluded from the hearing despite the move from some Republicans on the committee late last week.

The House Judiciary set up an antitrust subcommittee which is currently investigating the different alleged abuses by the four companies. The abuses include how Amazon treats third-party sellers, Apple’s App Store Policies, Facebook’s acquisition of WhatsApp and Instagram, and how Google controls its ad market.

“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,” the House Judiciary Committee Chairman, Jerrold Nadler said in a statement. “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 overall purpose of the hearing is to help lawmakers culminate in an extended investigation into the four tech giants.  Members of Congress are expected to submit a report on their findings after the investigation, which will lead to legislative proposals that will help in updating the antitrust laws in this digital era.