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House Antitrust Hearing Involving Big Tech CEOs Reportedly Postponed

By  |  July 23, 2020

A US House Judiciary Committee hearing at which big tech CEOs, including Apple chief Tim Cook, are scheduled to offer testimony on antitrust matters will likely be postponed, according to a report on Thursday July 23.

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    Citing sources familiar with the matter, CNBC reported the hearing will be delayed as the date conflicts with a service for late Rep. John Lewis. The hearing, which was set to feature Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, Apple CEO Tim Cook, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Google CEO Sundar Pichai, is meant to be the culmination of a more than year-long investigation into the four tech giants.

    Following the hearing, lawmakers plan to issue a report based on their findings throughout the investigation and propose legislation that would aim to bring antitrust laws up to date to be responsive to issues unique to digital marketplaces.

    The session would be the sixth hearing in the Judiciary Committee’s ongoing investigation into competition in the digital marketplace and allegations of anti-competitive conduct by the tech giants. It comes as all four companies face increasing antitrust scrutiny in Washington and Brussels, including a potential antitrust lawsuit that the Justice Department could launch against Google in the coming months.

    The project has been delayed already by the public health crisis that’s interrupted Congress’ normal course of business. Subcommittee Chairman David Cicilline, D-R.I., said in January, she expected the report to be completed by early April, but that timeline has since been shifted at least several months.

    It’s not yet clear when the hearing will be rescheduled.