US representative Jim Jordan has a reputation for being a blast. The Ohio Republican lived until this Wednesday.
During an otherwise confrontational but closed hearing by the House's Subcommittee on Antitrust on alleged monopolistic practices by big tech, Jordan broke out in rage over one of his colleagues, resulting in a short-lived but cacophonic standoff.
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The exchange began when the Pennsylvania Democrat Mary Gay Scanlon started her interview with the words: "Thank you, gentlemen, I would like to draw your attention to antitrust law rather than marginal conspiracy theories."
The comment was a clear blow to Jordan, who had spent his time pounding Google CEO Sundar Pichai on allegations that his company secretly helped Hillary Clinton during the 2016 presidential campaign. After Scanlon's Zinger, Jordan interrupted her loudly to defend herself. Democratic MP David Cicilline, chairman of the committee, barked at Jordan: "You don't have time." Another member of Congress said Jordan brusquely, "Put on your mask," indicating that any lawyer who does not interview witnesses must wear a mask to protect against coronaviruses.
Jordan's outbreak was one of several notable moments that interrupted the subcommittee hearing that brought Pichai, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Apple CEO Tim Cook together before the legislature. The hearing focused on whether these companies have become so powerful that they wrongly bow the market at will and force other companies to work with them on their terms because there are no alternatives.
Amazon bookseller
After his opening speech, Bezos' feed was plagued by technical difficulties, so he was not asked a question for more than an hour. A person familiar with the matter said the problem was not with Amazon. The company has repeatedly tested its feed, the person said, and it worked properly.
When Bezos was finally available for questioning after a break, Rep. Lucy McBath, Democrat of Georgia, played an audio recording of a bookseller on his platform. The seller said Amazon was slowly beginning to limit the sale of its 14-person business until it couldn't sell a book in 10 months. Emails to Amazon, including Bezos, have been largely ignored.
Bezos said such a situation was unacceptable and he tried to investigate it. But McBath said the problem is a broader indication that Amazon is repeatedly abusing small businesses on its platform: "It's not just a business. I'm concerned that this is a behavior pattern, and basically this behavior pattern needs to change . " ""
"Amazon Heroin"
In another targeted line of attack against Bezos, Cicilline told the Amazon boss a story about a clothing seller who made $ 60,000 a year from an article on Amazon. He said these sales fell to zero overnight after Amazon started selling the exact same item, but the smaller seller couldn't reach it at such a low price.
"This is how the clothing company described working with Amazon, and I quote," said Cicilline. "'Amazon has been with you for a while because it feels so good getting this paycheck every week, and in the past, for lack of a better term, we called it' Amazon Heroin 'because you just kept going and had to get it Your next solution, your next check. At the end of the day, you find that the person who seems to benefit you and makes you feel good will ultimately be your downfall. "
After Cicilline asked Bezos why a partner seller would compare Amazon to a drug dealer, Bezos said, "I don't agree with this characterization at all." He added that Amazon opened its retail store to outside sellers to help customers and give them more choices.
Break up big tech
Perhaps the most important part of the hearing took place at the end of its five and a half hours. At that point, Cicilline made it clear in the closing remarks that the congress had strong measures in mind for big tech.
"This hearing made a fact clear to me," said Cicilline. "These companies, as they exist today, have monopoly power. Some must be liquidated, all must be properly regulated and held accountable. We must ensure that the antitrust laws that were first adopted more than a century ago work in the digital age." "
