🔒 Google faces a tough crowd at Congress – The Wall Street Journal

DUBLIN – Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has spent some time sweating in front of Congressional committees lately. Now, it’s Google CEO Sundar Pichai’s turn in the hot seat. As Google and Facebook face mounting pressure from lawmakers in Europe in the wake of several high-profile fines, Pichai was called before Congress to assuage worries about a wide range of issues. One of the most significant unknowns facing tech monopolies like Google is the likelihood of new regulation. US regulators have historically not hesitated to deal with companies that pose serious risks to the economy, whether due to monopoly pricing power or general bad behavior. For a long time, the FAANGs seemed immune to legal concerns, but this was probably just an artefact of the fact that many older lawmakers were unfamiliar with the companies or didn’t understand them. Now, a new generation of politicians is emerging that grasps the enormous power these tech giants wield – and worries about the uses to which that power is put. So far, the fines have been manageable and new regulations bearable. It is not necessarily always going to be that way. – Felicity Duncan

Google CEO Sundar Pinchai Faces Lawmakers Skeptical Over Privacy, Alleged Anti-Conservative Bias

By John D. McKinnon and Douglas MacMillan

(The Wall Street Journal) WASHINGTON—Google Chief Executive Sundar Pichai faced a range of tough questions Tuesday as he made a long-awaited first public appearance before lawmakers who have grown increasingly skeptical of Silicon Valley.
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House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy of California made it clear in his opening statement at Tuesday’s hearing of the House Judiciary Committee that Republicans are focused on what he termed a “widening gap of distrust” between Silicon Valley and the American people.

Mr. McCarthy cited concerns about whether Google and other dominant tech firms are hurting free-market competition, as well as worries among conservatives about whether political bias among Google’s generally liberal workforce is creeping into its search products.

He also pointed to worries about the company’s possible return to China, saying, “We need to know that Google is living up to America’s belief in free expression and human rights when it deals with foreign governments.”

”For our country and economy to grow stronger, the American people must have trust in the great companies of the 21st century,” Mr. McCarthy said. “We can alleviate some of their concerns today, with transparency and candor. I hope we can begin to restore trust in the technology companies that shape our world. But we need answers.”

Mr. Pichai sought to reassure lawmakers of Google’s identity as an American company. Google is a unit of Alphabet Inc . “Even as we expand into new markets we never forget our American roots,” Mr. Pichai said in his opening statement.

“As an American company, we cherish the values and freedoms that have allowed us to grow and serve so many users,” he added. “I am proud to say we do work, and we will continue to work, with the government to keep our country safe and secure.”

He said over the past three years Google has made direct contributions of $150 billion to the U.S. economy and added more than 24,000 employees, many of them outside California, in places such as Texas, Virginia, Oklahoma and Alabama. He also assured lawmakers that “we work hard to ensure the integrity of our products,” and that he leads the company “without political bias.”

Democrats are expected to focus many of their questions on issues around user privacy—a concern for many Republicans too.

“Protecting the privacy and security of our users has long been an essential part of our mission,” Mr. Pichai said. “We have invested an enormous amount of work over the years to bring choice, transparency and control to our users. These values are built into every product we make.”

He added that the company supports federal privacy legislation. Many other tech companies also support federal legislation, as a way of mitigating the impact of restrictive new state privacy laws such as California’s.

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