U.S. lawmakers accuse Big Tech executives of alleged abuse of market power

Apple, Google, Amazon, and Facebook’s chief executive officers faced Republican and Democratic U.S. lawmakers on Wednesday for the much-anticipated congressional hearing. The CEOs were questioned for alleged abuse of their market power that kept their enterprises unbeaten.

Democratic lawmakers criticized the CEOs for buying startup companies and using their data to clone and kill off competitors while Republicans questioned their social media platforms for data privacy.

The U.S. House of Representatives’ Antitrust Panel Chairman David Cicilline said that the four CEOs had acknowledged the concerning behavior.

“As gatekeepers to the digital economy, these platforms enjoy the power to pick winners and losers, shake down small businesses, and enrich themselves while choking off competitors. Our founders would not bow before a king. Nor should we bow before the emperors of the online economy,” David Cicilline incited.

It was the first time since the four CEOs have appeared together in front of the U.S. lawmakers.