By Ryan Tracy
WASHINGTON -- The chief executives of Amazon.com Inc., Facebook
Inc., Apple Inc. and Alphabet Inc.'s Google faced relentless
criticism at a congressional hearing Wednesday, with Democrats and
Republicans alike challenging their business practices.
The session, conducted via videoconference because of the
coronavirus pandemic, laid bare deep-rooted frustration with some
of the country's most successful companies, at a moment when
Americans rely on them more than ever.
It also highlighted the threat the companies face from ongoing
investigations by antitrust authorities, with lawmakers citing
internal company emails and witness interviews as evidence that the
platforms improperly abuse their dominant position.
The tone of the questions, directed at Amazon's Jeff Bezos,
Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg, Apple's Tim Cook and Google's Sundar
Pichai, was almost universally hostile. Rep. David Cicilline (D.,
R.I.), chairman of the House Antitrust Subcommittee, kicked off the
hearing by declaring: "Our founders would not bow before a king.
Nor should we bow before the emperors of the online economy."
The executives defended their companies' practices and said that
they face stiff competition that forces them to serve customers and
innovate.
Mr. Zuckerberg faced a series of questions about Facebook's
acquisition strategy. Mr. Pichai defended Google from a litany of
accusations, ranging from taking advantage of its dominant online
search engine to its work in China.
Lawmakers in both parties accused Mr. Bezos of presiding over
bullying of independent sellers on the Amazon marketplace, citing
reports in The Wall Street Journal that employees had used seller
data to launch competing products.
Apple got fewer questions than the other firms, with Mr. Cook
defending its policies on its App Store.
Republicans appeared more skeptical of an antitrust crackdown,
with the top GOP member of the subcommittee, Rep. James
Sensenbrenner (R., Wis.), saying he wouldn't support a change in
competition laws to deal with large tech platforms.
"In America you should be rewarded for success," he said.
GOP lawmakers directed a series of questions at Google, and to a
lesser extent Facebook, for a perceived mistreatment of
conservatives on social media.
"Big tech is out to get conservatives," said Rep. Jim Jordan
(R., Ohio). "If it doesn't end, there have to be consequences."
President Trump also weighed in on the topic Wednesday, tweeting
"If Congress doesn't bring fairness to Big Tech, which they should
have done years ago, I will do it myself with Executive
Orders."
The CEOs rejected the accusations, saying they strive to remain
politically neutral and focus on serving consumers, not denying
access to competitors.
Mr. Bezos, in his first appearance before Congress, told
lawmakers about his parents and his decision to leave a Wall Street
job to start Amazon from a Seattle garage.
"The retail market we participate in is extraordinarily large
and competitive," he said, addressing broader concerns about
Amazon's power. "There is room in retail for multiple winners."
Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D., Wash.), who has Amazon's headquarters
in her district, asked Mr. Bezos whether Amazon employees violated
an internal policy against accessing data from independent
sellers.
"I can't guarantee you that this policy has never been
violated," Mr. Bezos said. He emphasized that Amazon wants
third-party sellers to succeed and benefits when consumers have
more options.
When another lawmaker played an audio recording of an Amazon
seller who said her business nosedived after an action by Amazon,
he said: "I'm surprised by that. It's not the systematic approach
that we take, I can assure you."
Mr. Zuckerberg said new companies are emerging all the time.
"History shows that if we don't keep innovating, someone will
replace every company here today," he said.
He added that Facebook faces broad competition, pointing out it
competes with Amazon and Google for advertising dollars, and with
Apple on private messaging.
Mr. Cook addressed concerns from app developers about excessive
fees and self-preferencing on the widely popular App Store.
"If Apple is a gatekeeper, what we have done is open the gate
wider," Mr. Cook said. "We want to get every app we can on the
store, not keep them off."
Google took the most heat early in the hearing. Mr. Cicilline
accused the search giant of abusing its position as a web gateway,
saying it changed "from a turnstile to the rest of the web to a
walled garden." He quoted one internal memo that he said showed
Google employees discussing how other websites had "too much
traffic."
Mr. Pichai said he wasn't familiar with the specific document,
but pointed to competition in online search, such as searches for
specific items on travel or retail websites, a sector known as
"vertical search."
"When we look at vertical search, it validates the competition
that we see," Mr. Pichai said.
Several Republicans criticized Google for abandoning some work
with the Pentagon, and repeated concerns among some in the Trump
administration about the company's work in China.
"It seems to really call into question your commitment to our
country and our values," said Rep. Matt Gaetz (R., Fla.)
Mr. Pichai said the company doesn't work with the Chinese
military. "Compared to our peers it is very, very limited in
nature," he said of the company's work in China.
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D., N.Y.)
took on Mr. Zuckerberg, quoting documents of him describing
Instagram as a threat before Facebook acquired it in 2012.
"This is exactly the type of anticompetitive acquisition that
the antitrust laws were designed to prevent," Mr. Nadler said.
"I think the FTC had all of these documents" when it reviewed
the acquisition for compliance with antitrust laws, Mr. Zuckerberg
responded, referring to the Federal Trade Commission.
Some FTC officials in 2012 thought the deal raised antitrust
concerns, but they worried they might not win an antitrust case in
court if they sued to block the deal, the Journal reported last
year.
Rep. Hank Johnson (D., Ga.) pressed Apple on whether it treats
app developers equally, saying it has dedicated employees and
special pricing deals for some large developers. Mr. Cook
disagreed: "We treat every developer the same," he said.
The hearing was marked by lawmakers interrupting witnesses
before they finished their responses. Mr. Bezos' video feed went
out early in the session, causing Mr. Cicilline to call a recess.
At the outset, instead of asking the witnesses to stand and swear
to tell the truth, Mr. Cicilline had a different request: "Unmute
your microphones and raise your right hands."
Write to Ryan Tracy at ryan.tracy@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
July 29, 2020 17:40 ET (21:40 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2020 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN)
Historical Stock Chart
Von Mär 2024 bis Apr 2024
Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN)
Historical Stock Chart
Von Apr 2023 bis Apr 2024