As part of an ongoing probe of competition in digital markets that involves Google, Apple, Facebook, and Amazon, the US House Judiciary Committee last week sent a letter to each company demanding to know whether their CEOs will testify in hearings set to take place in July, reported Axios.
The antitrust investigators want to know by Sunday, June 14, whether Apple, Google parent company Alphabet, Amazon, and Facebook will have their CEOs attend the hearings voluntarily. They’re also seeking a number of materials related to other competition probes and internal communications, with the letters asking questions “on issues related to possible competitive harms.”
According to Axios, the letters suggest the Judiciary Committee could send out subpoenas to force testimony and document production if the companies do not comply.
“These are documents that are essential to complete our ongoing, bipartisan investigation of the digital marketplace,” antitrust subcommittee chairman David Cicilline said in a statement. “This is the appropriate process to secure their production.”
The US Department of Justice last July launched a broad antitrust review into whether major technology companies are unlawfully stifling competition.
In September 2019, the US House Judiciary Committee sent a letter to Apple CEO Tim Cook requesting details on documents and communications related to the App Store, product repairs, and seller agreements with Amazon.
Full Content: Axios
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