Stéphanie Yon-Courtin
Google, Apple, Facebook and Amazon didn’t say whether the companies’ CEOs would attend the hearing.
EU Parliament moves ahead with Big Tech hearing plan
Jan 19, 2021, 1:01 PM
The European Parliament has decided it will host a hearing with the chief executives of Google, Apple, Facebook and Amazon, insiders confirmed today, just as Silicon Valley companies are facing a rush of new legislation in the EU.
David Sassoli, the Parliament’s president, approved on Monday the hearings with Google’s Sundar Pichai, Apple’s Tim Cook, Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg and Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, according to three Parliament officials with knowledge of his decision.
The Committee for Economic and Monetary Affairs (ECON) will be in charge of organizing and running the hearing, which will focus on digital economy issues relating to competition and tax. The committee will send invitations after it has agreed on a date.
“I do hope that CEOs will take up their responsibilities and answer questions of the representatives of 460 million of citizens who happen to be their daily customers,” said France’s Stéphanie Yon-Courtin, a lawmaker in the Renew Europe group and vice chair of the ECON committee, who initially proposed the idea.
Spokespeople for Google, Apple, Facebook and Amazon declined to say whether the companies’ CEOs would attend the hearing before receiving the formal invitations.
Europe calling
The call for a hearing came after U.S. lawmakers heard the squadron of CEOs in July, as part of an investigation into possible anti-competitive conduct in digital markets.
The Parliament’s move fits in with a wider EU drive to tame Big Tech. In December, Brussels unveiled its proposals to boost digital competition and protect citizens from online harm, with two legislative initiatives, the Digital Markets Act and the Digital Services Act.
In September, MEP Irene Tinagli requested permission to organize a hearing on behalf of the ECON committee she chairs. Other committees fought to be co-organizers, but European Parliament Vice President Antonio Tajani eventually decided the ECON committee would be the only ones asking questions, according to a document obtained by POLITICO.
The Parliament president’s support comes only two weeks before the date that had been originally for the hearing: February 1. However, two officials said the organizers would discuss the date again before sending official invitations.
The news of a hearing does not come out of the blue for Big Tech companies.
Before Christmas, the Parliament had sent a provisional invitate for the February date to allow Google, Apple, Facebook, and Amazon to get ready and take a position.
For Manon Aubry, a French lawmaker from the European United Left in the ECON committee, the timing is not an issue. But she contended that the Parliament may not have the necessary powers to force Pichai, Cook, Zuckerberg and Bezos to show up.
“The Parliament does not have the possibility to summon companies for a mandatory hearing,” she said. Unlike U.S. lawmakers, the European Parliament does not have powers to legally compel companies to answer questions.
In September, Yon-Courtin proposed refusing access to the Parliament for those companies whose CEOs are unwilling to testify, but the threat may be difficult to implement in a period where most meetings are held virtually because of the COVID-19 crisis. The hearing will take place in an online format.
“Should CEOs decline to take part to this hearing, the European Parliament, which has always been open to all stakeholders, will take due note of this lack of cooperation and accountability, and act accordingly,” she said.
One Parliament official contended that companies refusing to send their CEOs would send a negative signal, suggesting it could hurt their reputation at a time when EU lawmakers are taking positions on major pieces of tech legislation.
The ECON committee will decide on the format of the hearing and time allocations on January 26, the official said.
Article complet : https://pro.politico.eu/news/129996
