Apple, Amazon, Google, Facebook bosses to face US Congress

Four of the five biggest tech companies in the world will send their chief executives to testify before a government probe into their power.

The men at the head of some of the biggest companies in the world will be called to testify before the US Congress during an antitrust probe amid growing suspicion of the size and power of tech companies.

The hearing is set to begin sometime in July.

Facebook boss Mark Zuckerberg is practically part of the furniture in Congress at this point and is set to make his third appearance in as many years.

Alphabet (owner of Google and YouTube) CEO Sundar Pichai will return for another round of testimony before US politicians, and Apple CEO Tim Cook will also return to Congress.

Amazon boss Jeff Bezos will make his Congressional debut.

RELATED: ‘A simple yes or no’: Facebook boss grilled

Jeff Bezos is the only one who hasn’t been called before Congress before. Picture: Mandel Ngan/AFP

RELATED: Zuckerberg’s big free speech fail

RELATED: What Facebook don’t want you to know

It’s possible he might make his testimony without setting foot in the building however.

The House Judiciary Committee is yet to decide whether the hearings will take place virtually due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Facebook and Google earlier said they’d only send their top executives to testify if Amazon and Apple did as well.

Jeff Bezos indicated he’d agree to testify, and now Tim Cook has finally come on board too.

Congress is hauling the tech heads in to talk about accusations of antitrust abuses, as all four companies are already under investigation by US federal regulators or state-level Attorneys-General, according to The New York Times.

Mark Zuckerberg is about to testify for the third straight year. Picture: Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images/AFP

Google CEO Sundar Pichai didn’t want to go back to Congress unless the other three CEOs had to come too. Picture: Kenzo Tribouillard/AFP

RELATED: Amazon’s embarrassing game fail

The Justice Department in the States is preparing to potentially bring an antitrust case against Google over its dominance of advertising and online search markets.

Amazon’s business dealings and Facebook’s penchant for acquiring smaller companies before they can become competitors are also under the microscope.

Google’s dominance and Facebook’s acquisitions were also interrogated during the Australian consumer watchdog’s Digital Platforms Inquiry last year.

Apple is being scrutinised for its dominance over the App Store platform as well as for not letting you pick a default alternative to the Safari and Mail apps on your iPhone (a practice set to end with the introduction of iOS 14).

Apple held out for a while but will now make Tim Cook available to testify. Picture: Brooks Kraft/Apple Inc. via AP

RELATED: Zuckerberg ‘disgusted’ by Trump’s posts

RELATED: Simple plan for more cash in 2020

Its likely the executives will get other questions as well.

Mr Zuckerberg and Mr Pichai might face questioning over the litany of issues on Facebook and YouTube, running the gamut from one side to the other and covering free speech, censorship, and hate speech along the way.

Mr Bezos may have to answer some uncomfortable questions about the treatment of Amazon workers (though probably not as uncomfortable as moving at “Amazon pace”).

The head of the everything company could also be quizzed over the facial recognition technology it recently announced it would pause selling to police, an announcement one Congressman has already labelled a “performative” PR exercise.

Amazon is also under scrutiny for accusations it may have ripped-off products offered by third-party sellers, and then prioritised its house brand knock-offs ahead of theirs in search.

Microsoft has so far not been called to send anyone along, but the landmark antitrust investigation brought against it in the ’90s could inform this round of scrutiny.

While the hearings will take place in the US, the States-based companies at the centre of them operate globally and any changes that stem from investigations by regulators in their home country will likely extend in some form around the world.