He also said that in the wake of the coronavirus
pandemic, “these giants stand to profit” and
become even more powerful as millions shift
more of their work and commerce online.
The companies face legal and political offensives
on multiplying fronts, from Congress, the Trump
administration, federal and state regulators and
European watchdogs. The Justice Department
and the Federal Trade Commission have been
investigating the four companies’ practices.
Veering from the issue of market competition,
a leading conservative Republican on the panel
aired longstanding grievances against the big
tech companies of censoring conservative
viewpoints. “Big Tech is out to get conservatives,”
said Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio.
Each company has a distinct profile and each
tech titan has his own approach and story to tell.
For Bezos, who presides over an e-commerce
empire and ventures in cloud computing,
personal “smart” tech and beyond, it will be his
first-ever appearance before Congress.
Bezos is introducing himself, in a way, in his
hearing testimony, unusual for the occasion. He
lays out his challenging life story growing up in
New Mexico as the son of a single mother in high
school, and later with an adoptive father who
emigrated from Cuba at 16. Previewing his written
testimony in a blog post Tuesday, Bezos traces his
origins as a “garage inventor” who came up with
the concept of an online bookstore in 1994.
He addresses the issue of Amazon’s power in
what he describes as a huge and competitive
global retail market. The company accounts for
less than 4% of retail in the U.S., Bezos maintains.
Image: Graeme Jennings