At the hearing, Bezos, Cook, Zuckerberg, and Pichai will argue their businesses are relatively small, exist in competitive environments, and benefit consumers

The C.E.O.s are likely to argue before Congress that their companies aren't anticompetitive. Here are the facts.

New York Times 2020-07-29

Discussion

@abc @abc on x
“We're looking at TikTok, we're thinking about making a decision,” Pres. Trump says when asked about whether he was nearing decision about banning the platform. Trump says he will be watching today's congressional hearing with tech CEOs “very closely.” https://abcnews.go.com/... …
@realdonaldtrump Donald J. Trump on x
If Congress doesn't bring fairness to Big Tech, which they should have done years ago, I will do it myself with Executive Orders. In Washington, it has been ALL TALK and NO ACTION for years, and the people of our Country are sick and tired of it!
@caseynewton Casey Newton on x
Top strategies for tech CEOs to buy time after hard questions at a remote hearing: - Sorry, I guess I was on mute - Sorry, I guess my Wi-Fi went down - Adorable child crawls onto lap and says 'daddy, what's antitrust'
@jessicalessin Jessica Lessin on x
I read the very long opening statements from the tech CEOs. Different approaches: (a thread) Bezos: Personal biography, rags to riches, American success story. (Emotional) Pichai: Customer anecdotes about small businesses using Google's tools (Practical)
@jessicalessin Jessica Lessin on x
Cook: Leans into iPhone/Steve Jobs halo bigtime off the bat (emotional) Zuckerberg: Tries to rebut specific accusations that will come up privacy, acquisitions/Leans into China fears (practical)
@levie Aaron Levie on x
How today's virtual hearing will likely play out: Congress: “Amazon is far too powerful to not be broken up. How do you respond?” Bezos: Congress: “Sir, I think you need to unmute yourself”
@nytimesbusiness @nytimesbusiness on x
In 1998, the spotlight was squarely on Mr. Gates, co-founder of Microsoft, the tech behemoth of the personal computer era. This time, the leaders of four big technology companies will be in the dock, appearing remotely because of a pandemic. https://www.nytimes.com/...
@wired @wired on x
Today, the CEOs of Google, Facebook, Amazon, and Apple will testify together in front of Congress for the first time ever. The theme: whether the four companies have built their economic power, or are using it, in ways that harm American society overall. https://www.wired.com/...
@delrey Jason Del Rey on x
Jeff Bezos is the only one of the 4 Big Tech CEOs never to sit for Congressional questioning. That will change with Wednesday's House antitrust hearing. It's about time. https://www.vox.com/...
@housejudiciary House Judiciary Dems on x
TODAY at 12:00 pm ET: @HouseJudiciary Holds Hearing on Online Platforms and Market Power with Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, Apple CEO Tim Cook, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, and Google CEO Sundar Pichai. https://www.youtube.com/...
@anandwrites Anand Giridharadas on x
Break them up. Tax them up. Unionize them. Regulate them. Make sure companies so poisonous to democracy (and to capitalism) never rear their heads again. https://www.nytimes.com/...
@andrewrsorkin Andrew Ross Sorkin on x
To @sundarpichai: Amazon refuses to sell your Google Home products because they compete with its own Echo line of devices. Do you think Amazon has gained its huge share of the U.S. smart speakers fairly? Separately, did Google+ fail because of Facebook's dominance of the space?
@mattrosoff Matt Rosoff on x
So now all four tech CEOs' remarks are live. From most-to-least interesting, I'd rank them like: 1. Bezos: https://www.cnbc.com/... 2. Zuckerberg: https://www.cnbc.com/... 3. Cook: https://www.cnbc.com/... 4. Pichai: https://www.cnbc.com/...
@alexeheath Alex Heath on x
Google has tried to buy each company in this example except Amazon https://twitter.com/...
@ditzkoff Dave Itzkoff on x
https://twitter.com/... https://twitter.com/...
@ashleyrgold Ashley Gold on x
Google testimony for tomorrow is up: https://docs.house.gov/... “Google operates in highly competitive and dynamic global markets, in which prices are free or falling, and products are constantly improving.”
@b_fung Brian Fung on x
Google CEO Sundar Pichai is expected to start his testimony by describing his experience as an immigrant, explaining that the economic opportunity he's benefited from has shaped his work at Google. His remarks are on the committee website, here: https://docs.house.gov/...
@richardjnieva Richard Nieva on x
In Sundar's prepared testimony, he leans hard into the case study approach, talking about small businesses that use Google's services. Shout out to Fat Witch Bakery in NYC and Kettlebell Kings in Austin https://docs.house.gov/...
@jenn_elias Jennifer Elias on x
NEW: Google CEO Sundar Pichai will argue the company has plenty of competition when it comes to Search and Ads, what with Amazon's Alexa, Twitter, Snapchat, and WhatsApp. “You can ask a friend for information via WhatsApp.” https://www.cnbc.com/...
@qwongsj Queenie Wong on x
I wonder if Zuckerberg is thinking about whether he should have thrown in a childhood story like Bezos and Pichai did in their prepared congressional remarks: https://docs.house.gov/... https://twitter.com/...
@kainazamaria Kainaz Amaria on x
“It is always possible, theoretically, that Congress will pass meaningful legislation regarding the internet and the companies that dominate it. But things would have to change radically for that to happen ...” great table setter via @pkafka https://www.vox.com/...
@brianmcc Brian McCullough on x
The best reporters don't need to wait for the news to actually happen: https://www.techmeme.com/... Teasing @pkafka ....
@sarahfrier Sarah Frier on x
Zuckerberg's strategy for the big tech congressional hearing: To portray Facebook as an American success story, now threatened by the rise of Chinese apps and tech around the world. (To make the point that weakening FB = strengthening China) https://www.bloomberg.com/...
@delrey Jason Del Rey on x
Amazon has just published @JeffBezos's opening statement for tomorrow's Congressional antitrust hearing. Some talking points: *Amazon the inventor *Amazon the job creator *Amazon the tiny retail company in a highly competitive market (see screenshot) https://blog.aboutamazon.com/…
@andrewrsorkin Andrew Ross Sorkin on x
To @JeffBezos: For years, users of the iOS Kindle app have been forced to buy e-books using a web browser because @amazon has refused to pay @Apple the 30 percent cut it takes on all in-app payments. Do you believe that policy is an abuse of Apple's market power?
@davidshepardson @davidshepardson on x
More from @JeffBezos “It's not a coincidence that Amazon was born in this country” https://blog.aboutamazon.com/ ... https://twitter.com/...
@sub8u Subrahmanyam Kvj on x
You might agree or disagree on how Amazon plays its market leader in ecommerce role, but these couple of paragraphs in @JeffBezos' statement are a masterclass in how businesses need to look at winning and retaining customer trust. $AMZN https://blog.aboutamazon.com/ ... https://t…
@joannastern Joanna Stern on x
No better way to show “customer obsession” than to use the word “customer” 37 times in an opening statement. https://blog.aboutamazon.com/ ...
@carnage4life Dare Obasanjo on x
This is an amazing opening statement from Jeff Bezos. From retail & e-books to cloud services, Amazon has fundamentally been about going further than any competitor when it comes to keeping customers happy. His family backstory is the American Dream. https://blog.aboutamazon.com/…
@joannastern Joanna Stern on x
Here's a fun thing to do ahead of tomorrow's House hearing: Read Jeff Bezos' testimony, in which he cites “customer obsession” https://blog.aboutamazon.com/ ... Then watch our three-part video series on how that mission has actually put customers at risk https://www.wsj.com/...
@daiwaka Daisuke Wakabayashi on x
My 2 cents - The Bezos statement reads like he actually wrote it or at the very least, only a handful of people “weighed in.” Sundar's statement feels like it was written collectively by dozens in a Google doc. Amazon: https://blog.aboutamazon.com/ ... Google: https://docs.house.…
@caseynewton Casey Newton on x
This testimony gets at the core issue Congress must consider tomorrow when Jeff Bezos testifies about Amazon: who were his parents, and what did they do for work? https://blog.aboutamazon.com/ ... https://twitter.com/...
@sharkbiotech Dan Rosenblum on x
some stats from Jeff Bezos testimony $AMZN has invested $270 billion in the US and has created 700k INDIRECT jobs There are 1.7 million businesses selling in AMZN stores. 3rd party stores account for 2.2 million jobs they hired 175k people during #covid19 https://blog.aboutamazon…
@johnolilly John Lilly on x
While I think Amazon can and should do more, this is wonderful. And a very clear indicator as to why they're dominant in the way they are right now. https://blog.aboutamazon.com/ ...
@dcurtis Dustin Curtis on x
Read this. https://blog.aboutamazon.com/ ... It is inspiring.
@b_fung Brian Fung on x
Amazon has posted Jeff Bezos's prepared congressional testimony. He's expected to open with a personal touch, describing the background of his mother and father before saying they took a big risk by investing their life savings in their son's idea. https://blog.aboutamazon.com/ .…
@kshashi Shashikant Kore on x
The Bezos' statement is an exceptionally persuasive piece of writing. It's worth reading. One interesting nugget - Infosys is one of the 4 global companies that has signed The Climate Pledge initiative, which has $2bn funding from Amazon. https://blog.aboutamazon.com/ ...
@dmccabe David McCabe on x
Here's Jeff Bezos' prepared testimony for the House Judiciary Committee tomorrow. This will be his first appearance before Congress in the more than two decades he's been running Amazon. https://blog.aboutamazon.com/ ...
@profgalloway Scott Galloway on x
Bezos will receive the least ire, as his command of soft power is second only to China #congressionalhearings #antitrust https://blog.aboutamazon.com/ ...
@rauchg Guillermo Rauch on x
“It's not a coincidence that Amazon was born in this country. More than anywhere on Earth, new companies can start, grow, and thrive here in the U.S. Our country embraces resourcefulness and self-reliance, and it embraces builders who start from scratch” https://blog.aboutamazon.…
@benedictevans Benedict Evans on x
Market definition is a basic part of competition policy. Amazon has 5% of US retail, 50% of books, over three quarter of ebooks, but a tiny share of groceries. If you want to deal with real problems, you have to pick the market that matters.
@can @can on x
Bezos letter tugs at all the correct patriotic heartstrings but, man, is this particularly a good time to look around and say “America is doing great and we should be doing more of what we've been doing” https://blog.aboutamazon.com/ ...
@encthenet @encthenet on x
Remember all the apps that apple has prevented shipping because they are “too close” to the built in apps. Or letting companies like Uber use non-public APIs, and instead of blocking them app, the gave the multiple weeks to fix, where small apps would have been blocked. https://t…
@andrewrsorkin Andrew Ross Sorkin on x
To @tim_cook: If Alphabet did not pay to make @Google the default search engine on @Apple devices, which search engine would you make your default? If Google is indeed the best search engine, regardless of the fee, do you believe its success relies on stifling competition?
@mcclure111 Mcc on x
Every job I've had for the last 10 years I've had moments we thought of a really great feature or product but then immediately stopped because we realized Apple wouldn't let us do it Apple has all of tech in a total chokehold. I dread having to eventually ship on their platforms …
@zephyrteachout Zephyr Teachout on x
“It is set to be a bizarre spectacle, with four men who run companies worth a total of around $4.85 trillion — and who include two of the world's richest individuals — primed to argue that their businesses are not really that powerful after all.” https://www.nytimes.com/...
@reckless Nilay Patel on x
I understand that this probably refers to Android generally, but Tim Cook saying Google has built a “very successful smartphone business” is very funny https://twitter.com/...
@colorofchange @colorofchange on x
We'll be listening closely to Zuckerberg & Pichai's testimonies during tomorrow's antitrust hearing. Between failing to address disinformation, and enabling white supremacists to proliferate hate and bias, they have much to answer for. https://www.nytimes.com/...
@markgurman Mark Gurman on x
Apple's testimony for tomorrow's hearing: @tim_cook says the App Store has opened the “gate wider,” says Apple will “make no concession on the facts,” says the iPhone has competitors like Google, LG, Huawei, others, and says the App Store fee has evolved https://www.bloomberg.com…
@nataliekitro Natalie Kitroeff on x
I saw these photos and thought these bros were doing their own “challenge accepted 💪🏻💪🏻 💪🏻💪🏻” https://www.nytimes.com/...
@blackswanofwall @blackswanofwall on x
For those counting, neither Apple, Amazon or Facebook has 'dominant market share" 🧐 Reminds me of Thiel's thesis of how startups describe themselves ("the only british restaurant in silicon valley!") vs how monopolies defend themselves ("we're in a fiercely competitive market") h…
@venkatananth Venkat Ananth on x
“It has the feeling of tech's Big Tobacco moment” - On tomorrow's congressional hearing ft. Google, Amazon, Apple and Facebook. https://www.nytimes.com/...
@wongmjane Jane Manchun Wong on x
Not wide enough to approve @hkmaplive I guess https://twitter.com/...
@jolingkent Jo Ling Kent on x
This probably has Jeff Bezos, Tim Cook, Mark Zuckerberg and Sundar Pichai wondering what @RepJayapal has prepared for tomorrow... #antitrust https://twitter.com/...
@benedictevans Benedict Evans on x
Another example: Apple is fond of saying that it doesn't have dominant market share - which is true, if you look at global smartphone unit sales. But over 80% of US teenagers have an iPhone, so it absolutely has dominant market share if that's the relevant market. https://twitter…
@danprimack Dan Primack on x
With Google set to testify tomorrow at antitrust hearing, it's a good time to remember that the Fitbit acquisition has still not closed.
@halsinger Hal Singer on x
Oh, if I had a dollar every time a defendant justified its conduct as being procompetitive by pointing to the (mimicking) conduct of its smaller rivals, as if their conduct doesn't establish the best outside option in the market. https://www.nytimes.com/... https://twitter.com/..…
@backlon Dieter Bohn on x
When cars were created, horse buggies had limited speed. They required constant feeding and grooming. Therefore it makes no sense to regulate cars, as they are so much better than what came before. https://www.bloomberg.com/... https://twitter.com/...
@stroughtonsmith Steve Troughton-Smith on x
Even the outlets that Apple is giving interviews to re App Store & antitrust don't sound very convinced 😂 Seriously though, Apple needs a harsh dose of reality. I've very little patience for all this vacuous self-absolution; nobody believes them because we've all experienced it
@alibreland Ali Breland on x
wow, they're doing the same thing that they do literally every hearing about tech. regardless of the subject https://twitter.com/...
@caseynewton Casey Newton on x
This grift has been the party's entire tech platform for four years so I'm not sure why they bothered to make their memo ‘confidential’ https://twitter.com/...
@jessekblum Jesse Blumenthal on x
.⁦@SenMikeLee⁩ is conducting a legitimate role of Congress and doing oversight over enforcement agencies, as opposed to Congressman Cicilline's approach, which is a combination of show boating and attempting to re-write the rules of the game. https://www.bloomberg.com/...
@bgov Bloomberg Government on x
GOP congressmen participating in today's antitrust hearing with big tech leaders are eager to talk about another issue: the tech industry's supposed bias against conservatives. https://bgovgo.com/2xf6aUQ
@ericnewcomer Eric Newcomer on x
GOP strategy headed into the hearing https://www.bloomberg.com/...
@andrewrsorkin Andrew Ross Sorkin on x
To Zuckerberg: None of your competitors own the kind of supervoting shares in their companies that you hold in Facebook. Are they less successful because of it? If not, why should you wield that level of power?
@maelynnballot Bone Spur-gundy on x
@woodruffbets Should read... “A proudly American but open to Russian influence when at all possible and profitable company.”
@juancpedreira Juan Carlos Pedreira on x
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg will concede to lawmakers that his company has more work to do in combating disinformation and voter suppression, according to his prepared opening statement for a blockbuster House hearing on the tech industry Wednesday. https://www.politico.com/... …
@woodruffbets Betsy Woodruff Swan on x
Zuckerberg's opening statement will also touch on China, per document I reviewed “Facebook is a proudly American company...China is building its own version of the internet focused on very different ideas” https://www.politico.com/...
@mattk Matt on x
How many times can he say “more to do”? How about “stop doing until fixed”? https://twitter.com/...
@tinamcgugan @tinamcgugan on x
@Techmeme @woodruffbets More to do? Didn't he say that every other time he's been before Congress, including right after the 2016 election?
@hypervisible Doomscrolling Eternal on x
Almost certain that some version of this will be said tomorrow: “We clean up 90% of the toxins we spew into society, and we are hoping to get that number to 91% with the help of our AI.” ☹️ https://www.politico.com/...
@davegershgorn Dave Gershgorn on x
this is going to be the line of the day: “companies aren't bad just because they are big” https://twitter.com/...
@repmattgaetz Rep. Matt Gaetz on x
#BREAKING: I've filed a criminal referral against Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg for making materially false statements to Congress while under oath. https://gaetz.house.gov/...
@johnhendel John Hendel on x
Mark Zuckerberg will include a warning about China in his testimony to House lawmakers tomorrow “China is building its own version of the internet focused on very different ideas, and they are exporting their vision to other countries...” https://www.politico.com/...
@mattgaetz Matt Gaetz on x
Facebook is disinformation. https://twitter.com/...

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At the hearing, Bezos, Cook, Zuckerberg, and Pichai will argue their businesses are relatively small, exist in competitive environments, and benefit consumers

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