The Tech Hearing Showed Some Pretty Big Antitrust Problems
This week, the CEOs of Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google appeared before Congress to justify their market power. The House Antitrust Subcommittee wanted to present findings from its investigation into whether the firms stifle competition.
Lawyers like myself have worried the Committee would waste time with ignorant and irrelevant questions. In the past, Congress has struggled with basic facts, like how Facebook makes money without charging users (“Senator, we run ads”). That happened on Wednesday, with one representative unclear on Apple’s commission for in-app purchases, and many Republicans spending their time decrying censorship against conservatives.
But if you cut out the spectacle, you’ll see that most members of Congress came prepared to ask informed, perceptive questions about how these large companies have stifled competition. The important issues were raised, and skepticism of the companies’ power was bipartisan.
Many members of Congress came prepared to ask informed, perceptive…
