Pressure continues to mount on Apple CEO Tim Cook to testify before Congress on antitrust concerns as other large tech firms indicate they will send their head executives to appear.
The Washington Post says Amazon, Facebook, and Google have all indicated they will send their CEOs to face questions about whether or not their companies are engaging in ant-competitive behaviors. Meanwhile, Apple has refused to announce whether or not Cook will appear.
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Google CEO Sundar Pichai signaled they are open to testifying to Congress as part of lawmakers’ ongoing antitrust probe into the tech industry, while Apple has not yet explicitly agreed to send its leader.
The companies’ commitments came in letters sent this weekend to the House Judiciary Committee, which has been investigating big tech since last year, according to two people familiar with the matter […]
Amazon chief executive Jeff Bezos also has signaled he will participate in the hearing, after the e-commerce giant initially resisted lawmakers’ demands […]
Apple, meanwhile, told the committee that it would send a senior executive yet did not clearly commit its leader.
Congress launched a bipartisan probe to find out if tech giants are taking advantage of their size to give themselves an unfair advantage over smaller firms, and if they act in ways contrary to the best interests of their own customers.
In Apple’s case, the concerns mostly center on the piece of the action the Cupertino firm takes from App Store sales and in-app payments and subscriptions.
This is just the latest antitrust investigation Apple is facing, as the U.S. Department of Justice is also conducting an investigation, as is the Federal Trade Commission which is investigating the legality of a deal Apple made with Amazon. Numerous U.S. states are also carrying out antitrust investigations.
The European Commission also recently launched an antitrust investigation over Apple’s Apple Pay and App Store.
(Via 9to5Mac)
