The judiciary committee of the House of representatives questioned on Wednesday the directors of Google, Apple, Facebook and Amazon on their competitive practices.
the Four bosses whose companies largely dominate the internet world, in the face of elected americans raised against that power that eludes them : the stage is set, the dialog remains uncertain. This Wednesday afternoon in Washington, the judiciary committee of the House of representatives will query Sundar Pichai (Alphabet, home of Google), Tim Cook (Apple), Mark Zuckerberg (Facebook) and Jeff Bezos (Amazon), who will speak via videoconference, pandemic coronavirus requires.
The theme may be stated in words (“Examine the dominance of Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Google”), nothing says that the parliamentarians are held to the examination of the competitive practices of the GAFA. Left and right, and within 100 days of the election, they could be especially aggressive against Facebook, which the elect cannot go to campaign.
Boycott advertising
“I’m afraid that the hearing turns into a discussion on content regulation, with the left who wants to force the platforms to fight against content that promotes hatred and misinformation, while the right wants to force them to allow,” says Mark Lemley, professor of law at Stanford university.
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Facebook has a boycott of advertising in a thousand advertisers, orchestrated by the civil society, which is the group is too lax in terms of moderation and content, in particular of the extreme right. Republicans, Donald Trump in the head, feel censored by the platforms. Ironically, the policies, which are intended primarily to their constituency, will seek to generate a scene that will make “a YouTube video viral,” notes Eric Goldman, director of the High Tech Law Institute at Santa Clara University.
american Dream
Google and Facebook take the bulk of the advertising revenue digital world thanks to the personal data of their billion users. Apple and Amazon, they are accused of being judge and party on their platforms, the app store for a and the e-commerce site to the other.
on Tuesday, the four bosses have taken the lead in publishing their opening speeches. All are play on the fibre patriotic elected americans. Their companies, “proudly american”, as said by Mark Zuckerberg about Facebook, owe their success to the values and laws of the country – democracy, freedom,inclusiveness, innovation, competition, etc “there are no guarantees that our values will win. China, for example, built its own version of the internet on very different ideas, and exports this vision in other countries”, stated the young billionaire.
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They also put forward their investments and job creation in the United States, as well as their personal career. Most importantly, they ensure that competition is fostered and to face a fierce competition. “Apple is not dominant on any of the markets where we do business”, leading Tim Cook, the boss of the maker of the iPhone.
laws and men
The judicial commission investigation for months about the possible abuse of a dominant position, but the hearing is unlikely to have major consequences. In contrast to the european authorities, the United States were rather cautious on the issue until now. The american law, as applied in recent years, requires, in order to authorize action against the companies, that their activities are clearly damaging to consumers, leading to a rise in prices, for example.
The exchanges might, however, help the elected officials to determine if there is a need to enact new laws to better regulate digital platforms. An idea supported by Mark Zuckerberg, at least for the moderation of content: in his speech, he recalled that, in his opinion, the governments should “play a more active role” to “update the rules of the internet”. The iconic bosses all recognize the relevance of a review of their activities by the authorities.
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But Jeff Bezos, of which this is the first hearing in the Congress, account, however, warn parliamentarians about his philosophy in relation to the critics. “When we think that our critics are right, we are changing. When we make mistakes, we present an apology”, he says. “But when you look in the mirror, that you evaluate the criticism, and that you still think you have made the right decisions, no force in the world should be able to make you change”.
