What you need to know
- Tim Cook has been invited to a hearing in Brussels on the power of big U.S. tech companies.
- It will precede potential new regulations from the EU in the digital sector.
Tim Cook, along with the CEOs of Amazon, Facebook, and Alphabet, has been invited to speak at an EU hearing on the power of big U.S. tech corporations.
From Reuters:
EU lawmakers have invited the chief executives of Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Alphabet to a Feb. 1 hearing in Brussels as they try to crack down on the powers of U.S. tech giants.The European Parliament will in the coming months provide input into proposals by the European Commission to force the companies to play fairly with rivals and to do more to tackle online fake news and harmful content or face hefty fines.
An invitation seen by Reuters stated that the purpose of the hearing " is to have an exchange with the chief executive officers of the four globally leading platform companies to learn about their current business models and future concepts as they face the challenges of altering market conditions." It further stated the hearing "will contribute to preparing the members of the European Parliament for the upcoming discussions on potential new regulation for the digital sector." As such, the event is only for CEOs.
According to the report, the EU has offered flexible dates through February and March, however "people familiar with the companies" have stated that they doubt any of the "big four" will take up the invitation.
Tim Cook, along with Sundar Pichai, Mark Zuckerberg, and Jeff Bezos have all had to appear before similar hearings in the US. In July Cook defend Apple's App Store policies to Washington.
