Apple CEO Tim Cook and the CEOs of Facebook, Amazon, and Alphabet (Google) are set to speak – virtually – before the House Judiciary Committee’s antitrust panel on July 27.
Nandita Bose and Diane Bartz for Reuters:
The panel is questioning the companies as part of its sweeping probe into whether they actively work to harm and eliminate smaller rivals, while not always making the best choices for their customers.
The high-profile hearing, which will bring together Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg, Apple’s Tim Cook and Google’s Sundar Pichai, will be a key moment in the growing backlash against Big Tech in the United States and is likely to set up a face-off between the executives and skeptical lawmakers from both parties.
Apple is likely to be quizzed about the way it manages its app store after facing criticisms that it presents hurdles to newcomers. Apple told Reuters it will argue it does not have controlling market share for apps. The iPhone maker views its store as a feature designed to ensure the security and reliability of its phones.
Apple will address issues such as the approval process for the app store – long a sore point with developers who have said their apps are held up without warning – and allegations it does not share key functions such as data about the phone’s location.
MacDailyNews Take: Kabuki dance.