Jerry Nadler unimpressed with Mark Zuckerberg’s answer on Instagram acquisition, while Amazon boss Jeff Bezos accused of hypocrisy
- Billionaire bosses to feel the heat from Congress
- US sees deadliest day of coronavirus summer – live
9.12pm BST
Representative Jamie Raskin of Maryland goes in on Bezos over Amazon’s market share in the smart home space, specifically given the ubiquity of its smart speaker Alexa.
He said Alexa is often heavily discounted and suggests it is pushed on consumers as a means to continue pushing Amazon products long term. Raskin notes that when he asks Alexa to buy batteries, the assistant first suggests Amazon-brand batteries. Raskin asks: Alexa trained to favor Amazon products?
8.57pm BST
Representative Jayapal returns to intensive questioning of Zuckerberg over anticompetitive practices including acquiring competitors or threatening them.
She cited Instagram’s acquisition as an example, reading evidence gathered that Instagram founder Kevin Systrom said he was afraid of Zuckerberg and how Facebook would respond if he declined to sell the platform. Jayapal’s closing comment was a zinger:
Facebook is a case study, in my opinion, in monopoly power. Because your company harvests and monetizes our data, then your company uses that data to spy on competitors and to copy, acquire, and kill rivals. You’ve used Facebook’s power to threaten smaller competitors and to ensure that you always get your way. Facebook’s very model makes it impossible for new companies to flourish separately, and that harms our democracy, it has harms mom and pop businesses and it harms consumers.
Continue reading…Jerry Nadler unimpressed with Mark Zuckerberg’s answer on Instagram acquisition, while Amazon boss Jeff Bezos accused of hypocrisyBillionaire bosses to feel the heat from CongressUS sees deadliest day of coronavirus summer – live 9.12pm BSTRepresentative Jamie Raskin of Maryland goes in on Bezos over Amazon’s market share in the smart home space, specifically given the ubiquity of its smart speaker Alexa. He said Alexa is often heavily discounted and suggests it is pushed on consumers as a means to continue pushing Amazon products long term. Raskin notes that when he asks Alexa to buy batteries, the assistant first suggests Amazon-brand batteries. Raskin asks: Alexa trained to favor Amazon products? 8.57pm BSTRepresentative Jayapal returns to intensive questioning of Zuckerberg over anticompetitive practices including acquiring competitors or threatening them. She cited Instagram’s acquisition as an example, reading evidence gathered that Instagram founder Kevin Systrom said he was afraid of Zuckerberg and how Facebook would respond if he declined to sell the platform. Jayapal’s closing comment was a zinger:Facebook is a case study, in my opinion, in monopoly power. Because your company harvests and monetizes our data, then your company uses that data to spy on competitors and to copy, acquire, and kill rivals. You’ve used Facebook’s power to threaten smaller competitors and to ensure that you always get your way. Facebook’s very model makes it impossible for new companies to flourish separately, and that harms our democracy, it has harms mom and pop businesses and it harms consumers. Continue reading…