Tech chiefs open to testifying to Congress on antitrust

Facebook Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg and Google Chief Executive Sundar Pichai signaled that they are open to testifying to Congress as part of lawmakers’ ongoing antitrust investigation into the tech industry, while Apple has not agreed to send its leader.

The companies’ commitments came in letters sent this weekend to the House Judiciary Committee, which has been investigating big technology companies since last year, according to two people familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss an investigation.

If lawmakers proceed as planned, the hearing could represent the most highprofile public testimony of the tech industry’s most powerful chief executives as federal agencies continue to investigate whether Apple, Amazon, Facebook and Google threaten competition, and harm corporate rivals and consumers.

Facebook and Google declined to comment, while Apple did not respond to requests. A spokesman for Rep. David Cicilline, D-R.I., chairman of the House’s top antitrust panel, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

In letters to committee leaders, Facebook and Google signaled they would dispatch their top executives as long as other tech giants’ leaders participate, the sources said. Amazon chief executive Jeff Bezos also has signaled that he will participate in the hearing, after the e-commerce giant initially resisted lawmakers’ demands.

Apple, meanwhile, told

the committee that it would send a senior executive but did not clearly commit its leader, Tim Cook, to appearing before lawmakers, according to one of the people with knowledge of the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the person was not authorized to discuss it. That approach could increase tensions between the iPhone giant and lawmakers in Washington, who previously had threatened to issue a subpoena forcing Bezos to appear before Amazon ultimately expressed an openness to it.

House Democrats and Republicans embarked on their antitrust investigation last year, hoping to

scrutinize Silicon Valley’s business practices and determine whether federal competition laws properly have kept pace. Cicilline, the leader of the inquiry, has said he aims to produce a report on the matter this year, and the document is expected to recommend new regulation or other action against Apple, Amazon, Facebook and Google.

House leaders have requested an exhaustive list of documents from the four tech companies, seeking to study their past acquisitions, their executives’ private communications and more. In the meantime, lawmakers have given a public stage to news media groups, tech startups and other businesses that say their endeavors have suffered at the hands of Big Tech.

The congressional inquiry

complements a slew of additional investigations underway at the Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission. DOJ leaders are expected to file an antitrust case against Google this summer, with a similar lawsuit to follow from state attorneys general who are also probing the search and advertising giant.

Meanwhile, European Union regulators opened two investigations on Tuesday into Apple’s mobile app store and payment platform over concerns its practices distort competition, opening a new front in the EU’s battle against the dominance of big tech companies.

The EU’s executive Commission said it formally launched the investigations over concerns that Apple’s way of doing business hurts consumers by limiting choice and innovation and keeping prices high. Apple dismissed the complaints as “baseless.”

The commission is examining whether Apple Pay’s rules require online shops to make it the preferred or default option, effectively shutting out rival payment systems. It’s also investigating concerns that it limits access for rival payment systems to the “tap and go” wireless function on iPhones.

The Commission opened a second investigation into the App Store over concerns Apple forces developers to use the company’s own in-app purchasing system, which charges them a 30% commission, and restricts them from telling iPhone and iPad users about other ways to pay for digital services like music subscriptions.

The investigation follows complaints from music streaming service Spotify and an e-book distributor on the impact of the App Store’s rules on competition.

“It appears that Apple obtained a ‘gatekeeper’ role when it comes to the distribution of apps and content to users of Apple’s popular devices,” EU Executive Vice President Margrethe Vestager said. Regulators want to make sure Apple’s practices don’t affect competition in markets where it competes with other app makers, she said, citing its music streaming service and e-book services.

Apple rejected the allegations, saying it has created new products and services in the world’s most competitive markets.

“We follow the law in everything we do and we embrace competition at every stage because we believe it pushes us to deliver even better results,” the company said in a statement.

“It’s disappointing the European Commission is advancing baseless complaints from a handful of companies who simply want a free ride, and don’t want to play by the same rules as everyone else,” it said.

Spotify welcomed the EU’s investigation, accusing Apple of creating an “unlevel playing field” and depriving consumers of choice. It refuses to use Apple’s payments system, which it says makes its subscriptions more expensive than Apple Music’s.