US threat to break up Facebook and Google
TECH giants Google, Facebook, Amazon and Apple were warned they could be split up during a dramatic congressional hearing held via webcam on Thursday (AEST).
Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg was told he may have to sell Instagram to comply with antitrust laws, and the other three firms were accused of acting as monopolies.
Four of the world’s most powerful tech titans were grilled by the House Antitrust Committee, which is seeking to limit the overwhelming power of the internet giants.
It was the first such appearance by Amazon chief executive Jeff Bezos, the world’s richest man, who was joined via webcam by Apple boss Tim Cook, Sundar Pichai of Alphabet, which owns Google, and Mr Zuckerberg.
House Judiciary Committee chairman Jerry Nadler said that although the Federal Trade Commission approved Facebook’s purchase of Instagram in 2012, it was by no means a closed case.
“Mr Zuckerberg, mergers and acquisitions that buy off potential competitive threats violate the antitrust laws,” Mr Nadler said.
“In your own words, you purchased Instagram to neutralise a competitive threat. If this was an illegal merger at the time of the transaction, why shouldn’t Instagram now be broken off into a separate company?”
Also at the hearing, Google was accused of “stealing content from honest businesses” and Facebook was slammed for censoring conservative voices on its platform.
“Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, these corporations already stood out as titans in our economy,” said committee chair David Cicilline.
“In the wake of COVID-19 … they are likely to be even stronger and more powerful.
“Any single action by one of these companies can affect hundreds of millions of us in profound and lasting ways.
“Simply put: they have too much power.”