Apple boss Tim Cook was invited along with the CEOs of Amazon, Facebook and Alphabet to speak at an EU hearing about the power of large US tech companies.
The CEOs of Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Alphabet have been invited to an EU hearing that will take place in Brussels on February 1st. The hearing will address the power of large US tech companies. reported Reuters:
EU lawmakers have invited the chief executives of Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Alphabet to a hearing in Brussels on February 1 as they seek to limit the power of the US tech giants.
The European Parliament will provide input in the coming months into European Commission proposals to force companies to play fair with rivals and do more to combat fake news and harmful content online or face hefty fines.
It remains to be seen whether Tim Cook and Co. will appear
An invitation seen by Reuters states that the purpose of the hearing is "to exchange ideas with the CEOs of the world's four leading platform companies to learn about their current business models and future concepts as they face the challenges of changing market conditions." It goes on to say that the hearing "is intended to help prepare members of the European Parliament for the upcoming discussions on possible new regulations for the digital sector." The whole thing is therefore only aimed at CEOs. According to the report, the EU has offered flexible dates in February and March, but "people familiar with the companies" have said that they doubt that any of the "big four" will accept the invitation. Tim Cook, along with Sundar Pichai, Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos have already had to appear before similar hearings in the US. In July, Cook defended Apple's App Store policy before Washington, more about it here. (Image: Apple)
