 What do you get when you combine a handful of congressmen and four tech executives? It sounds like a joke. Oh, he heard it already. We've got representatives from Apple, Amazon, Facebook, Google, and Andrew Heaton. Howdy, fellas. I look forward to your objective questions. Any single action by one of these companies can affect hundreds of millions of us in profound and lasting ways. Like the federal government. Simply put, they have too much power. They have too much power. Their ability to dictate terms, call to shots, upend entire sectors, and inspire fear represent the powers of a private government. Yeah, that's our job. The concentration of the economic or political power is dangerous to a democratic society. Nobody's having any self-reflection right now. Can anybody name the three branches of government? Bullying, fear, and panic. Nailed it. Any business that wants to be found on the web must pay Google a tax. Are you saying taxes are bad? Are you flirting with me? What's to stop Apple from increasing its commission to 50 percent? That reminds me, let's raise taxes to 50 percent. Even some of the largest companies in the country fear your power. Well, we're not rolling out unmarked bans in Portland, so maybe lay off, lady. I will be introducing the house companion bill later this afternoon. You cannot force people to be your house companion. Would you agree to this idea? I don't know. Maybe if it's a voice vote? No, no, no. I mean, six months of lockdown. I'm not picky right now. Grab a bottle of champagne. We'll just, we'll see what happens. We all, we all do all kinds of online social media. All kinds of that kind, that outreach, that communication. We all, we all do all kinds of online social media. All kinds of that kind, that outreach, that communication. It sounds like you're very communicative. Ever retaliated against or disadvantaged a developer who went public about their frustrations with the app store. I think you're asking about punishing whistleblowers and I would like to compliment the gentleman on keen awareness of the institution in which he presently sits. America is a remarkable nursery for innovation and entrepreneurship in pursuit of the American dream. You're saying America is a good place to pursue the American dream. In America you should be rewarded for success. What are you gargling? Being big is not inherently bad. Thank you. Yes. Body positive. The committee will stand in recess for 10 minutes while we fix a technical feed with one of our witnesses. There has to be consequences. There have to be consequences. Amazon has said it's fixing. Fixing. It's fixing. Fixing. Fixing. Whatever. It's counterfeit problem. I encourage this body to pass stricter penalties for counterfeiters and to increase law enforcement resources to go after counterfeiters. We would love for you to do your job. If you could do your job better and smarter that would make our job a lot easier. I'm a government official. I know. Thanks, Florida. I'm worried about Google's market power. Everybody's got to go through you. There's really no alternative. You should really Google ballot access. You can use Bing, I guess. Big tech's out to get conservatives. If Facebook is out there trying to repress conservative speech they're doing a terrible job at it. Top 10 most shared articles on Facebook in 2020. Trump suggests injection of disinfectant to beat coronavirus and clean the lungs. I mean, I'm ready to try it. My parents who have a Gmail account aren't getting my campaign emails. They're going to spam in junk folders. Where they belong. They flagged you. Like to redirect your attention to antitrust law rather than fringe conspiracy theories. Mr. Chairman, we have the email. There is no fringe. Excuse me? It's not your time. Jordan, you do not have the time. But see what happens over here. Someone directly controls time. Put your mask on. I don't know why people don't take it seriously. Does Amazon pursue similar predatory campaigns in other parts of its business? You all are just hunting for sound bites, aren't you? The way a cheetah would pursue a sickly gazelle. Cool. I would love to be far more aggressive and nimble. That would be terrifying. Is it okay to try to extract in that negotiation leverage with respect to getting content from them? In general, I think that when two companies are negotiating, you are negotiating not just the amount of money that's going to change hands, but also what you're going to get in exchange for the amount of money. Yeah, so what you're describing in that negotiation is a negotiation. When users say Alexa buy batteries, Alexa responds, would you like to buy AA Amazon basic batteries? We do promote our own products. Is that legal? Usually in our quest to regulate big companies, we end up hurting small companies more. Google regulatory capture. The whole goal of this committee's work is to make sure that there are more Amazons, that there are more Apples. But no more political parties. People are stuck with bad options. We should still hold the election on time, though. Can you assure Americans today you won't tailor your features to help Joe Biden in the upcoming election? We support work that campaigns do. So yes or no question. Have you stopped beating your wife? So yes or no question? Amazon strings you along for a while because it feels so good to get that paycheck every week. We called it Amazon heroin. How did you hear about that? Why on earth would they compare your company to a drug dealer? Maybe because they're responsive and make him happy. I want to respectfully disagree with the characterization. To respect, I strongly disagree with that characterization. Great respect. I don't agree with the premise. I would like to disrespectfully disagree. You all are showboating. We could have done this through email. I think that the history proves that Congress does a poor job in picking winners and losers. Honestly, you sound like a cassette tape that's been pulled out and re-spooled. We're back to exactly where we were in 1984. There was a 1984 Super Bowl ad. I remember it very well. The ad ends with this lady running in in color and smashing the screen. It was Apple versus IBM at the time. Yeah, but the point was mob think, cancel culture, group think is not what this country is about. I'm sorry, are you telling the CEO of Apple what an Apple ad is about? Very quickly, can each of you simply commit to improving racial and gender equity at your company? No, but we will automate everyone equally. Can you just make a blanket commitment? I'll take the duvet. This hearing has made one fact clear to me. Let the record show that the Congressman is reading a prepared statement about what he just learned today. This must end. Thank God. Thank you.