Congress may put the wealth of Big Tech CEOs under the microscope

The CEOs of Alphabet, Amazon, Apple and Facebook will testify in front of Congress on Wednesday in a historic hearing about antitrust concerns as well as the unprecedented wealth created by Big Tech. CNBC's Robert Frank reports. Subscribe to CNBC PRO for access to investor and analyst insights on tech and more: https://cnb.cx/3dIH56N

When the CEOs of Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Google parent Alphabet testify before Congress on Wednesday, it won’t be exactly what the House Antitrust Subcommittee members envisioned when they launched their probe last June.

For one thing, it will be held over video conferencing software due to pandemic-related precautions, eliminating the optics of the four executives being sworn in before an elevated panel of lawmakers. And with 1.3 million documents already obtained from the companies, the testimony is unlikely to include any bombshells.

Regardless of how well-practiced the CEOs are when they take the witness stand, their testimonies will offer an important insight: how they are handling antitrust challenges from regulators with the authority to break them up.

The House Judiciary Committee’s probe into Big Tech is expected to end with a report and legislative proposals about how to update the antitrust laws to respond to new challenges posed by the digital marketplace. Those laws, if enacted, could have far-reaching and lasting effects on how federal and state regulators crack down on anti-competitive practices in the future.

But the more immediate threat to the four CEOs is a potential lawsuit from domestic and international regulators who have been probing the companies on the same issues the House panel is investigating. Those agencies have the authority to order the companies to alter their businesses or make onerous commitments.

Antitrust questions about the four companies are not uniform, and even an hours-long hearing will only scratch the surface. But the way it plays out will indicate how the companies are fighting antitrust arguments behind the scenes, what commitments they’re willing and unwilling to make under oath, and how likely bipartisan antitrust reform really is.

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