A common refrain we hear from Tech Companies is, during the course of the investigation, but also on my own, since i have minute them in my district is that they cant be violating Anti Trust Laws and the primary argument is that many of their products are cheap or free, and therefore they are inherently benefiting. We have talked about this, to me the big question is its free really free . Consumers are paying for the product that they use, paying ended up, paying in privacy that they give up and often dont know they are giving up. The big Tech Companies and use that data to build these massive empires of information about consumers that give them spectacular advantage over newcomer businesses, allowing the companies to scrutinize every aspect of peoples lives, create and sell products that have the best chance of being successful. You mentioned the history of acquisitions. Facebook at made 67 on talents acquisitions, amazon has made 97, and google had made 214, mostly unchallenged acq
One on the role of data and prime fancy into competition. I recognize myself, i should state the obvious im, not bitter of the subcommittee, and chairs the subcommittee, the chair of the committee will be here in a few minutes. It has never been easier to share news and information that content and communicate with loved ones, all at a moments notice. Given the technological recognitions it, has added to the balance of power in our economy. Its important for us to understand how this affects americans, what is causing the asymmetries of power and whether these new and growing inequalities are compatible with our democratic values. The committees ongoing is a key part of this practice. Todays hearing, we will examine the role that data plays and maintaining any qualities of power, and how this affects competition. As previous hearings have shown, the growing share of Congress Communications is now controlled by a small number of companies. These platforms are innocent, largely intermedi