by: Kellie Meyer
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WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) — The four biggest names in technology were in the hot seat on Wednesday during a Congressional hearing.
Lawmakers grilled the heads of Google, Apple, Amazon and Facebook about their power over American consumers.
“I wanna leave here today with a more complete picture of how your individual companies use your size, success and power,” Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner (R-WI) said.
Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY) expressed frustration during the hearing over how these companies buy up competitors.
“Facebook saw Instagram as a threat that could potentially siphon business away from Facebook,” Nadler said.
Florida Congresswoman and potential VP candidate Val Demings (D-FL) questioned Google CEO Sundar Pichai about how data collection is affecting American’s privacy.
“Would you agree that what changed was Google gained enormous market power?” she asked.
The top tech groups were hit with questions from both sides of the aisle. During their own questioning, Republicans wanted to know if the platforms are biased.
Florida Republican Congressman Greg Steube asked Pichai why Gmail sends emails with conservative content to junk folders.
“Why is this only happening to Republicans?” Steube asked.
Another Florida Republican, Rep. Matt Gaetz, wanted a promise that public pressure wouldn’t lead Google to cancel a partnership with police officers.
“They asked you to stop doing business with American law enforcement,” he said.
The Google CEO replied, “we are committed to continue to work with law enforcement.”
Throughout the hearing, the four CEOs played defense, standing by their platforms and their commitment to their users.
