Moment or someone will be caught offguard. There will be several rounds of questioning after the Opening Statements. We have seen the testimony of all four of the ceos. There is a similar theme. These ceos are emphasizing that they are facing competition all all on all fronts. Tech is the most Competitive Industry in the world. In every facet of every business they run, they talk about how they face competition. Mark zuckerberg focuses on china saying that if there is too much regulation, that will give Chinese Companies an advantage. The ceo of alphabet talking nott how google does necessitate competition. Tim cook talking about the app store, the opportunity that it has given companies around the world and the fact that the vast majority of apps in the app store are free. Jeff bezos his testimony is different. He talks about a personal story. How his parents invested in amazon in the day. A truerican has american story. This is a first time we will see him testify before congress. He does not speak publicly very often. He is also the owner of the Washington Post so that might inspire some more praise or flattery from the lawmakers. That would be an interesting dynamic i will be watching. Vonnie absolutely. It is almost for certain that there would be the opportunity to ask questions of these representatives. They will very likely want to ask jeff bezos about things like amazons labor record. Or will they stay away from those offtopic things . Emily no, they will go offtopic and we can expect this to be all over the map. I talked to all four of the companies and they are prepared that this will not just be focused on specific antitrust issues, but issues that the lawmakers care about. Maybe they had a personal experience with a tweet that was removed. With amazon there could be a focus on labor given all of the controversy about amazon warehouses in the pandemic. You can expect jeff bezos to highlight the record amount of hiring that amazon has done the last few months. It is a huge american employer and that is certainly something the lawmakers are going to want to hear. Going into this, you can assume that the lawmakers have been hearing it from both sides. We know the companies have done their best to lobby and turn over voluminous amounts of documents. I am told millions of pages of documents stating their side of the story. We will also we have also heard from those on the opposite side. Folks like the ceo of spotify and epic games, the maker of fortnite. I have interviewed these people in the last days and weeks. They have accused apple of being a monopoly. Of apple and google being a duopoly. Calling these Big Technology companies unamerican. I do think that a lot of people do not understand the scale of these companies. Almost half of the worlds population is on facebook. There is not a real question how much power the company has and how much power Mark Zuckerberg himself has and should have. Vonnie the election is going to come up. We are a few months away. On idea of political and so will be front and foremost among Committee Members preoccupations. Emily absolutely. The president himself has continued his ad campaign on facebook. Also joe biden, even though we are in the middle of a huge facebook ad boycott where we have had a lot of advertisers who have pulled their campaign from the social network because of how the company mishandled hate on the platform. Political advertising is full speed ahead. I think how facebook treats political speech and advertising is going to be a hot button topic. The president himself has had posts on question where twitter has flagged or put some of the posts behind a warning where he is warning about shooting looters or threatening violence on protesters in washington. Standok has let the posts so that has been incredibly controversial. Facebook has been given getting it on both sides. The president is not happy with it, democrats are not happy with it. The president tweeted, if congress does not bring fairness to big tex, i will do it myself , i will do it myself with executive orders. We have seen the president take steps to add more rules to the road, to take a look at a loss for internet platforms like facebook and google and twitter the laws for facebook and google and twitter. What is interesting is that Mark Zuckerberg has been saying we welcome regulation. We want regulation. He has not suggested what regulation should be. As we understand it, he does not believe facebook should be making the decisions about what stays up and what comes down and would like the government to take a more active role. The president talks about executive orders. He has been closed with Mark Zuckerberg in the past. They have been together. You wonder what kind of relationship they have. And then these executive orders what does he mean . What could he possibly do . Emily we are actually watching the hearing get underway. The chair of the subcommittee is giving his opening arguments now. You are correct that policies ceos have met with President Trump. Tim cook seems to have cultivated the most congenial relationship with him. Yes, dark zuckerberg has met with the president a couple of times. Mark zuckerberg we have always found out about these meetings after the fact. We can assume that the president talked to Mark Zuckerberg a lot about how the company moderates and handles speech on the platform. The accusation has been that facebook has been aligned with team trump. I heard from my sources that facebook does not have a strategy for the president in particular or for any particular party, that their fatal flaw is that they do not go too far to the right or too far to the left and there for they get it from both sides. Not everyone agrees with that argument, but that is the argument that the company has made. Even as we are talking about this, there are so many issues on the table, so many antitrust anticompetitive issues. The issue about how facebook has been handling speech seems to be the hot button issue right now. Many people that i have been speaking to are really expecting Mark Zuckerberg to get the majority of the fire today. Vonnie we shall see because as you said, it is underway. The chair of the antitrust subcommittee just making his Opening Statement. Thanks to emily chang, host of bloomberg technology. Lets get now to lawmakers on the House Judiciary Committee antitrust panel who have begun the Opening Statement for the questioning of the ceos of amazon, apple, alphabet, and facebook. Including financial services, media and gains. Facebook is the largest provider of social Networking Services with a Business Model that sells digital ads. Despite privacy scandals and recordbreaking signs, facebook continues to enjoy booming profits, 18 billion last year alone. Google is the Worlds LargestOnline Search engine. It is more than 90 of searches online. Controls key technologys and lab markets and enjoys more than one billion users across six products including browsers, smartphones and digital maps. Prior to the pandemic, these corporations are ready tightened our economy. In the wake of covid19, they have become more stronger than ever before. The American Families shift more of their work, shopping and medication online, these giant profiting. Andlly owned businesses main street face an economic crisis unlike any in recent history. As hard as it is to believe, it is possible our economy will emerge from this crisis even more concentrated and consolidated than before. These companies serve as critical arteries of Congress Commerce and communication. Because they are so central, their Business Practices have an effect on our economy and our democracy. Any single action by one of these companies can affect hundreds of millions of us in profound ways. All those these corporations differ in meaningful ways, we have observed common patterns over the course of this investigation. First, each is a bottleneck for a key channel of distribution where they control access to information or a marketplace, these platforms have the ability to exploit this power. Y can charge fees, oppose impose contracts and extract data from the people and businesses that rely on them. Uses itsach platform control over Digital Infrastructure to surveil other companies, their growth, is this activity and whether they might pose a threat. Each platform has used this data to protect its power by cutting off access for any actual or potential rival. Third, these platforms abuse their control over technology to extend their power whether it is through self preference he, pricing, or require users to purchase additional products. They have wielded their power in destructive ways in order to expand. At todays hearing we will examine how these plays have used this playbook to achieve dominance and how their power shapes our daily lives. Why does this matter . Many of the practices used by these bennies have harmful effects. They discourage entrepreneurship, destroy jobs, hike costs and grade quality. Simply put, they have too much power. This power staves off competition, creativity and innovation. While they might produce in the rate of products, their dominance is killing Small Businesses, manufacturing and dynamism that are the engines of the american economy. Several of these firms abuse peoples data to sell ads from everything from books to miracle cures. When americans learn how much of mined, theys being cant run away fast enough. Our Company Cases there is no escape because there is no alternative. People are stuck with bad options. Open markets are predicated on the idea that if the company harms people, consumers and Business Partners will choose another option. We are here today because that choice is no longer possible. In closing, i am confident that addressing these problems will lead to a more stronger economy because concentrated economic power also needs leads to political power, this investigation goes to the heart of whether we as a people govern ourselves or whether we let ourselves be governed by private monopolies. American democracy has always been at war against monopoly power. We have recognized that concentrated markets and political control are incompatible with democratic ideals. When the American People confronted monopolist in the past, whether it was the railroads or coil tycoons, we took action to ensure no private corporations control our economy or democracy. We face similar challenges today. As gatekeepers of the Digital Economy, these platforms enjoy the power to pick winners and losers, shakedown Small Businesses and enrich themselves while choking off competitors. Their ability to dictate all of the shots, and inspire fear present the powers of private government. Our founders would not bow before a king, nor should we bow before the emperors of the online economy. With that i recognize the Ranking Member of the subcommittee for his Opening Statement. Thank you, mr. Chairman. I want to thank ceos for working with the subcommittee. The Memorial Service for John Lewis Lewis on monday required our attention. However this hearing is vital to our oversight work and i appreciate your flexibility. Throughout my long time in congress, i have prioritized oversight as one of our seminal responsibilities. Part of that responsibility is to periodically review the effectiveness of our laws and i think it is a good and timely thing we are now turning our attention to Technological Innovations which brings us to all of your companies. Our country is stricken by a pandemic and becoming a dramatic illustration of the reliance americans have on Technological Innovations and these unexpected and unprecedented times, your companies have provided innovations so our nations can meet a myriad of daily needs. The delivery of groceries, virtual visits with doctors, connecting socially distant families, or keeping small and Large Businesses connected. That responsibility comes at increased scrutiny of your dominance in the marketplace. I want to reiterate something i said throughout this investigation. Being big is not inherently bad. Quite the opposite. In america you should be rewarded for success. We are here to better understand the role your companies have in the digital marketplace and importantly the effect they have all consumers and the public at large. These are some of todays most powerful companies. What your companies do with that hume leader power. We also note that the tech marketplace is driven by data. Inse who control the data essence control the marketplace. There are broader questions surrounding data. Who owns the data . What responsibility do companies have to share it with your customers or competitors . What is the fair market value of that data . Is there anything monopolistic in acquiring this data . And what about monetizing it . These are complex issues that congress, regulators and even your own companies are wrestling with in the current landscape and the answers to which we owe the american consumers. Since the investigation began, we have heard rumblings from many who are quick to say your Successful Companies have grown too large. And hearing was announced these completes have gotten louder. While i find the complaints informative, i do not plan on litigating each of these complaints today. Antitrust law and the consumer welfare standard have served this country well for over a century. Those laws have provided the mework and creat to it he creativity to make way for some of our most successful and innovative companies. I will be the first to highlight that. However, as the business landscape evolves, you must ensure that our existing antitrust laws are applied to meet the needs of our country and its consumers. I share the concern that market dominance in the Digital Space is ripe for abuse, particularly when it comes to free speech. As we know, Companies Like facebook, google, youtube and twitter have become the Public Square of today where political debate unfolds in real time. But reports that dissenting views,often conservative are targeted or censored is troubling. Tooervatives are consumers and they need the protection of the antitrust laws. Withower to impose debate remarkable responsibilities. Let the facts be our guide. Your companies are large, that is not a problem. Your companies are successful. That is not a problem either. I want to leave with a more complete picture of how your individual Companies Use your size, success and power and what it means to the american consumer. I yield back the balance of my time. Recognizes thew distinguished chairman, the gym and from new york, mr. Nadler for his Opening Statement. Thank you, mr. Chairman. I want to thank you and the subCommittee Members for the tremendous effort for this investigation. Your calling this hearing so we can hear from the leaders of amazon, apple, facebook and google and i look forward to important dialogue. Today it is impossible to use the internet without using the services of these four companies. I have long believed that Thomas Jefferson and louis brandeis, the concentration of power in any form, especially concentration of economic or political power is dangerous to a democrat excited. That is why we must examine these and other companies that play a donna role in our economy and society and be sure that our antitrust laws and forces the tools they need to preserve a healthy marketplace. These principles have guided this Committee Investigation into competition and in Digital Markets and they are the lens through which i approach this hearing. The internet has delivered but if its to americans including a surge of economic opportunity, investment, and pathways for education online. There is growing evidence that corporations have come to capture an outside share of online curb online commerce. By providing a dominant search platform and all messaging cloudrm to providing the computing on which hundreds of thousands of other businesses rely, these dominant platforms comprise the essential infrastructure for the 21st century. By virtue of controlling essential infrastructure, these companies can control access to markets. In some ways, it is not unlike what we faced 130 years ago when railroads transformed American Life enabling farmers and producers to act as free markets and creating a key chokehold that the monopolies could exploit. To keep power in a variety of ways. They charged polls exploiting the producers on rails. They discriminated among farmers, picking winners and losers across the economy and by expanding the lines of business, they competed directly with producers and used their dominance in transportation to favor their own services. These tactics by the rose spurred fury and despair tactics by the railroads spurred fury and despair. We have enacted legislative solutions to outlaw these anticompetitive practices in the Railroad Industry and others dominated by monopolies. Importantly, congressional oversight and reforms during this period did not invent the arrival of new technology for human progress. Instead