The hearing for the CEOS of Apple, Amazon, Facebook, and Google-parent company Alphabet that was set for Monday has been rearranged. The blockbuster session will now take place on Wednesday, July 29 at 12 PM ET, according to the House Judiciary Committee’s website. It is to be the first time Tim Cook, Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg, and Sundar Pichai had ever appeared to together in such a setting. The original hearing would have clashed with a memorial service for Rep. Joh Lewis (D-Ga) who recently passed away (via CNBC).
Hearing Delayed to Avoid Coinciding With Memorial to Rep. John Lewis
The antitrust hearing, which had required careful negotiation, now seems certain to be delayed. At the time of this writing, no rescheduled date had been confirmed or suggested. The work of the House Judiciary Committee and the Antitrust Subcommittee had already been delayed due to the COVID-10 pandemic. The memorial to Rep. Lewis will take place on Monday at 2 PM E.T. at the U.S. Capitol.
[Update July 27: Adds rearranged date. Clarifies Sundar Pichai is the boss of Alphabet, which is the parent company of Google.]
“Blockbuster Antitrust Hearing”
I thought that Blockbuster went out of business 😀
This will be the usual dog and pony show when CEOs are dragged in front of a committee of politicians. The pols will be interested in one thing, enhancing their images with the public as holding evil corporations accountable for their evilness. The CEOs will be dragged over the coals, accused of skullduggery, asked when they sold their children into bondage, etc. You know, the usual “gotcha” kind of questions.
It will be a battle of wits with both sides lawyered up. The CEOs who run trillion dollar companies are a lot smarter than the douchebags sitting in judgement of them. At least the douchebags know that these companies are responsible for a big chunk of the economic activity of the country. They know if they take them down, dismember them, break them up, millions will lose their jobs as a result.