Tech giants face growing calls for tougher regulatory treatment

Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg, Sundar Pichai and Tim Cook being sworn in to testify via videoconference during a hearing on 'Online Platforms and Market Power' on Capitol Hill, in Washington, DC, United States, July 29. — US House Judiciary Committee via Reuters

LOS ANGELES: On July 29, in a congressional antitrust hearing, the CEOs of four of the world's biggest tech companies endured a five-plus-hour cross-examination filled with combative and accusatory questioning. The livestreamed bipartisan grilling was aimed at making the case that the rich corporate quartet – Facebook, Amazon, Apple and Alphabet – have repeatedly abused their outsize economic clout.

The next day, the four companies collectively reported US$28.6bil (RM119.73bil) in second-quarter net profits. Indeed, Big Tech has demonstrated its resilience amid the coronavirus-induced economic crisis that has trashed whole sectors of the US economy, leading to a record 9.5% drop in the country's GDP for the quarter.