Google, Apple, Amazon and Facebook face off against Congress this week

The biggest giants of technology will once again be on the hot seat of the Congress this week, in front of antitrust and Facebook hearings Balance motto. In each case, however, the real question they will face is whether the US government should step up its efforts to regulate them.

The hearings, held at the Capitol, carry academic titles such as "Online Platforms and Market Power, Part II: Innovation and Entrepreneurship". The latter, scheduled for Tuesday with the House Judiciary Committee, is expected to discuss antitrust issues with representatives of Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Google. The Senate Banking Committee will also hold a hearing titled "Reviewing Facebook's Proposed Considerations on Digital Privacy and Data Privacy" to discuss the Social Network Balance motto that the company hopes to change.

These hearings represent the latest in the ever-changing dance between tech giants and Capitol Hill lawmakers – an issue that is quickly becoming an issue in the next race for the US presidency. The challenge is how the government will regulate the technology sector, which has become one of the most powerful and powerful groups in the world. Amazon and Apple are both worth nearly $ 1 trillion, while Google and Facebook are generating billions of dollars.

For decades, the ruined societies of Silicon Valley have represented the new American dream: to create multi-billion dollar companies from a great time. But the last two years have been the scene of scandals and misdeeds committed by companies.

Facebook and Google came up against questions about privacy, freedom of speech and electoral interference. Amazon and Apple have grown in the meantime and become so powerful that some lawmakers claim that they have become monopolies that must be separated.

Regulators have already started imposing record fines on businesses, including EU judgment against Google for $ 5 billion last year, and the US Federal Trade Commission expected $ 5 billion fine against Facebook this year.

This, however, was not enough to satisfy many politicians. President Donald Trump, who has used social media to overthrow the political world, has become one of the most virulent critics of the industry.

"This new technology is so powerful and so important, and it must be used fairly," he said at a social media summit with conservative allies last week.

Facebook and Google have not responded to requests for comments. The Amazon and Apple representatives mentioned previous statements argue against concerns about anti-competitive practices.

No clear answer

The proposed solutions are as varied as the complaints of the technology companies. Some, like Democratic Senator Mark Virginia of Virginia, have proposed laws on portability and confidentiality of data, as well as a bill to enhance transparency with respect to political advertising. Others, like Republican Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, have called hearings on censorship and claimed that technology companies must be regulated differently because of concerns about political bias.

Then there's the crypto-currency Balance of Facebook, which adds a new ride to be taken into account by lawmakers. Trump has already called Libra and Bitcoin, claiming that their value "is very volatile and based on a thin layer of air".

The myriad of problems is why, despite all this scandal and pressure, lawmakers have not come to an agreement on how to go forward.

All that they may seem to agree on until now, is that something must be done.

"Today's big tech companies have [too much power over] our economy, our society and our democracy, "wrote Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren, Democratic presidential candidate, in March.

"In almost every respect, giant tech companies are bigger and more powerful than Standard Oil when they've been broken, they're bigger and more powerful than AT & T when they've been broken," Cruz said. from a hearing in April.

The big question

This week's hearings will be particularly challenging because they will address each of the concerns about monopolistic actions perceived by technology.

Warren argued, for example, that technology companies have grown so much that competition has become tougher, putting "the playing field against everyone". Trump and Cruz, meanwhile, have focused on concerns of freedom of expression.

But none of these arguments touch on the government's antitrust goals: prices that hurt consumers.

Amazon is criticized for often reducing price competition, while prices on Apple's App Store are similar to those of Google's competing platform. Facebook and Google, meanwhile, are primarily known for offering free services like Instagram, WhatsApp Messenger and Google Maps.

"What is the violation of antitrust laws when something is free?" said David Balto, former director of policy at the Federal Trade Commission. He worked for the team that accused Microsoft of monopolistic practices two decades ago (a judge agreed, but the company escaped a break-up).

This did not prevent the chorus against the technology from becoming stronger. Nearly all the more than two dozen candidates in the Democratic presidential election said the technology needed to be examined more closely.

That includes Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, who told the New York Times earlier this year: "Public policy is so far behind the explosion of technology that it's really one. weaknesses of our current situation as a country ".