Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon CEOs to testify before Congress on July 27th
It will be livestreamed on YouTube.
A few days ago, it was revealed that tech’s biggest CEOs had agreed to testify at a House Judiciary Antitrust Subcommittee hearing in late July. Now, the committee has an exact schedule for the event: It has announced that the hearing will take place on July 27th at 12PM ET and will be livestreamed through its official YouTube account. The committee has also reconfirmed that Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, Apple’s Tim Cook, Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg and Google’s Sundar Pichai will testify.
It will be the first time all four executives will be testifying in Congress together. However, they might not be all in the same place as everyone involved in the hearing are allowed to appear virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Committee says it will announce more details about the hearing’s format, probably including a list of who’s appearing in person and who’s attending virtually, at a later date.
The hearing will tackle an ongoing investigation the Committee launched amid concerns that the tech giants are suppressing competition. In a statement, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler and Antitrust Subcommittee Chairman David Cicilline explained why they need the CEOs to testify to be able to wrap up the investigation:
“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.”
