House Antitrust Subcommittee Committee asks Apple, Amazon, Facebook and Google to turn over trove of records in antitrust probe

The House Antitrust Subcommittee investigation into Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Google entered a new phase Sept 13, after lawmakers called on each of the tech giants to turn over a trove of sensitive documents, including top executives’ private communications. The requests sent by Democratic and Republican Reps ask the companies to share detailed information about their internal operations, including financial data about their products and services, private discussions about potential merger targets and records related to “any prior investigation” they have faced on competition grounds. The documents could shed light on whether the companies’ dominance of search, advertising, e-commerce and other digital markets is rooted in anti-competitive practices, such as gobbling up or squashing rivals, and the extent to which their leaders participated in, or had been personally aware of, any wrongdoing. The lawmakers’ letters are not official legal demands, though the panel does have key powers to compel the four tech giants to turn over records or appear at hearings if necessary. “The open Internet has delivered enormous benefits to Americans, including a surge of economic opportunity, massive investment, and new pathways for education online,” said Full House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler (D-NY). “But there is growing evidence that a handful of corporations have come to capture an outsized share of online commerce and communications."