US Congress: Are Bezos Grilled Today?

US Congress: Are Bezos Grilled Today?

Washington, July 29, 2020

Jeff Bezos will testify before the congress today. It is about an antitrust hearing on competition in online markets. To this end, Bezos will join the CEOs of Apple, Facebook and Google to testify before the company’s antitrust subcommittee by video conference. They will answer questions about their respective market power and competitive practices to clarify whether current antitrust laws go far enough or require changes to stem big tech.

The hearing is based on an investigation launched last summer by subcommittee chair David Cicilline (D-RI) to assess how big tech dominated the market. All four companies are the subject of antitrust investigations by the Ministry of Justice or the Attorney General.

The CEOs expect to be faced with difficult questions. They should range from allegedly anti-competitive behavior to small business acquisitions, election security, and political bias. In the case of Amazon, lawmakers could focus specifically on the company’s use of the data and private label business to compete with smaller sellers.

Bezos is expected to cite Amazon’s Consumer First and Customer Obsession principles to explain the company’s competitive behavior. Bezos‘ determination has reportedly been put to the test as he generally sticks to positive „popular“ topics in public interviews and appearances. He has also relied on other executives to defend Amazon in the past.

Cicilline said the lawmaker wanted to investigate Amazon’s practices „in a very serious way.“ He noted that they collected 1.3 million documents from all companies and heard „worrying statements“ from small businesses and innovators associated with Amazon last year.

The subcommittee will stream the hearing on the House Justice judicial YouTube channel starting Wednesday afternoon.