Antitrust probe: Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Google chiefs to testify before US panel

US lawmakers expected to release antitrust investigation report in the coming weeks

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The chief executives of four top tech companies—Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Google—will testify before the US House Judiciary Antitrust Subcommittee during an antitrust investigation hearing on July 27. The hearing comes against a backdrop of growing complaints about tech platforms that have dominated key economic sectors, and calls by some activists and politicians to break up the Silicon Valley giants

Chief executives Jeff Bezos (Amazon), Tim Cook (Apple), Mark Zuckerberg (Facebook), and Sundar Pichai (Google) will be allowed to appear virtually if they wish. “As we have said from the start, their testimony is essential for us to complete this investigation,” Jerrold Nadler, the House judiciary panel chairman, and David Cicilline, the House antitrust subcommittee chairman, said in a statement.

"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," Nadler and Cicilline said. "Given the central role these corporations play in the lives of the American people, it is critical that their CEOs are forthcoming."

Google and Facebook, which account for the bulk of digital global advertising revenue, provide free services that have become largely dominant in their sector—such as Google's search engine or its subsidiary, video-sharing platform YouTube.

Earlier this year, the US Justice Department said it was reviewing potential anticompetitive actions by major tech platforms, and attorneys general from the majority of US states have launched antitrust investigations of Google and Facebook.

Lawmakers are expected to release a report on their antitrust investigation in the coming weeks. The U.S. Justice Department is also probing the big four tech platforms. Facebook and Amazon are also facing inquiries by the Federal Trade Commission, while U.S. states attorneys general are looking at Facebook and Google.