Bezos to testify in Congress in antitrust probe

Amazon’s Jeff Bezos has agreed to testify to Congress amid an ongoing legislative investigation into antitrust practices by the tech industry.

CNN’s Brian Fung reported the news:

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos is willing to testify before House lawmakers who are probing the tech industry for potential antitrust violations, according to a letter sent by the company’s lawyer to congressional leaders and reviewed by CNN Business.

The letter, dated Sunday, from Robert Kelner, an outside attorney for Amazon (AMZN), said the company is “committed to cooperating with your inquiry and will make the appropriate executive available to testify.”

Kelner went on to say: “This includes making Jeff Bezos available to testify at a hearing with the other CEOs this summer.”

The New York Times was first to report the letter.

The offer of Bezos’s testimony follows pressure by members of the House antitrust subcommittee who have demanded the CEO appear before the panel.

Alina Selyukh from NPR wrote:

“Of course, we will need to resolve a number of questions regarding timing, format, and outstanding document production issues,” a lawyer representing Amazon wrote in a Sunday letter to lawmakers, reviewed by NPR. “It bears emphasizing that other senior executives now run the businesses that are the actual subject of the Committee’s investigation.”

Jason del Rey from Vox noted:

The House Judiciary Committee is investigating Amazon, along with Apple, Facebook, and Google, because of the unprecedented power they wield over the way Americans shop, search, and communicate online. Bezos’s willingness to testify is an acknowledgment of the seriousness of the probe, which could result in lawmakers recommending legal action from federal regulators or an overhaul of antitrust laws to rein in Big Tech.