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(Bloomberg) – A House panel investigating potential antitrust violations at large technology companies is seeking information from Amazon, Apple, Google and Facebook customers about the state of competition on the Internet. digital markets and the adequacy of current measures, according to documents reviewed by Bloomberg.
This is the latest development in the bipartisan Congressional investigation led by the House antitrust subcommittee chairman, David Cicilline, a Democrat from Rhode Island.
The eight-page survey does not mention any company by name, but it looks for information on the industries it dominates, such as mobile apps and app stores, search engines, digital advertising, social media, messaging, e-commerce and logistics, as well as the cloud. l & # 39; computer.
The survey asks respondents to identify the top five providers of the various digital services and the amount they have paid to each of them since January 1, 2016. He also asks for any allegations of Violation of antitrust rules or commercial practices prejudicial to competition. The committee offered the respondents the possibility of confidentiality if they wished.
The panel asked for answers to its survey by mid-October.
Antitrust Assessment
The survey seems to target companies that pay big tech companies for services such as cloud computing, digital advertising and help selling mobile applications and products online. It does not seem to focus on mainstream consumers buying Amazon products or Apple iPhones.
It also shows how regulators rely on Big Tech's customers and competitors to help them better understand digital markets and how dominant players can stifle competition. The Federal Trade Commission has quietly interviewed online merchants selling products on Amazon to better understand the business.
The questionnaire shows that the House panel has tried to assess the hold of large technology companies in various markets, which is a first step in the search for antitrust violations. If the panel finds that there is so little competition that customers of large technology companies have no viable alternative, this warrants a closer look at business practices and mergers and acquisitions.
The questions also suggest that the panel is willing to consider how antitrust laws are enforced in digital markets and whether enforcement and laws need to be updated.
A Google spokesman declined to comment. Apple did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Both Amazon and Facebook declined to comment, but referred to earlier comments by their leaders in which the two companies said they were in favor of controlling the government and maintaining their existence in markets where competition is healthy. E-mails to House Committee representatives were not immediately responded to.
The survey sent to clients follows the public disclosure of letters that the House Antitrust Subcommittee sent to Google Alphabet Inc., Amazon.com Inc., Facebook Inc. and Apple Inc. These letters, posted online, are seeking detailed information on acquisitions and business practices. , communications with leaders, previous investigations and prosecutions. The letters follow a hearing in July in which legislators toasted technical leaders.
The panel of the house was the most visible of the various probes of technology companies. Representative Cicilline was a vocal critic.
Speaking at an antitrust conference in Washington, DC last week, he said: "You'd be surprised" by the number of companies having expressed concerns about the potentially unfair way of competition between the big tech companies. Some have even feared that technology giants react with economic retaliation if the concerns of small businesses were made public, said Cicillin, without providing more details.
The House investigation is part of a broader review of control companies such as Amazon, Google and Facebook on the US economy. The FTC is investigating Amazon and Facebook while the Department of Justice is investigating Google. Separately, 50 state attorneys general announced a Google antitrust investigation.
(Adds the date requested for survey responses in the fifth paragraph.) An earlier version corrected David Cicilline's spelling.)
– With the help of Naomi Nix and Ben Brody.
To contact the reporter about this story: Spencer Soper in Seattle at [email protected]
To contact the editors in charge of this story: Jillian Ward at [email protected], Ian Fisher
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