The GAFA crush their competitors and democracy, hammered the Democrats. The GAFA censor us, stormed the Republicans… The American elected officials gave free rein on Wednesday, for five hours, to years of frustration vis-à-vis the sprawling companies that dominate the global Internet.
Sundar Pichai (Alphabet, parent company of Google), Tim Cook (Apple), Mark Zuckerberg (Facebook) and Jeff Bezos (Amazon), were heard by videoconference by the Judicial Committee of the House of Representatives in Washington, which has since been investigating one year on possible abuse of a dominant position. "They have too much power," said David Cicilline, chairman of the subcommittee on competition. And "they will certainly emerge (from the pandemic) even stronger and more powerful than before".
Google, "a fenced garden"
"If Congress does not force the" Big Tech "to be fair, which they should have done years ago, I will do it myself with decrees," threatened Donald Trump before the start of the meeting . Democratic members have mainly focused on the business model of the tech giants.
They have tried to prove that these groups use the mountains of personal data at their disposal and competitor acquisitions to illegally prevent any competitor from emerging, to the detriment of consumers, citizens, innovation and democracy. “Google has become the portal to the Internet and is abusing its power,” argued David Cicillin after a series of questions to Sundar Pichai. "It has become a fenced garden, (…) which virtually ensures that any business that wants to be found online has to pay a tax to Google".
Competition at the heart of debates
Jerry Nadler, chairman of the commission, for his part attacked Mark Zuckerberg in the area of acquisitions. “Facebook saw Instagram as a threat (…), so (…) they bought them,” he accused. Jeff Bezos, whose first appearance before a parliamentary committee, also took for his rank. “Amazon is only interested in exploiting its monopoly on online sales,” said David Cicillin. “Its dual role of host and merchant on the same platform is fundamentally anti-competitive. Congress must take action ”.
To support this point, the elected Pramila Jayapal quoted a former employee of Amazon: "(the chiefs) just tell us:" do not use yourselves in the data ". But it's a real candy store, everyone has access to whatever they want ”. Tim Cook was asked about the same subject - his quality as a judge and part on his application platform, the app store - but was relatively spared compared to other groups.
Patriotic fiber and "success stories"
Combined, GAFAs are worth around $ 4.780 billion on the stock market. Billionaires Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg are among the top 5 richest men in the world. Their bosses had few opportunities to respond to the accusations, except during their opening remarks, where they praised their American "success stories" to appeal to the patriotic fiber of elected officials.
They highlighted their contribution to growth, their investments, job creation in the United States, and assured to promote competition while facing fierce competition. Not enough to convince David Cicilline: “These companies have a monopoly. Some must be split, others must be regulated and made responsible for their actions, ”he concluded.
The judicial commission has been investigating possible abuses of a dominant position for months, but the hearing is unlikely to have major consequences, if not, perhaps, to prepare new laws that are more restrictive for the platforms. digital.
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