Pandemic profiteering will hasten the downfall of Google, Amazon, Apple, and Facebook

WASHINGTON —  As the four Big Tech firms featured in yesterday’s judiciary committee hearing prepare to release financial results later today, it is even more clear that we need to break up these corporations. The COVID-19 pandemic has shattered the lives and businesses of millions of American workers and entrepreneurs. And yet, amid the country’s worst economic downturn in almost a century, these corporations continue to profit from predatory and illegal business practices.

In response to the financial reports by Google, Amazon, Apple, and Facebook, Barry Lynn, executive director of Open Markets Institute, issued the following statement:

“Yesterday’s hearing in Congress was already a turning point for the American people. It made clear that Congress and the public are ready to restructure these corporations and impose long-overdue nondiscrimination rules to protect our economy and democracy. Today’s earnings report only reinforce the need to act now. 

"As the rest of this country faces one of the worst economic disasters in history, these corporations have continued to build their empires by flouting antitrust laws, illegally crushing rivals, and manipulating how citizens do business and speak to one another. The results they are reporting today prove that the business models of Google, Amazon, Apple, and Facebook are based on dangerous predatory actions and must be fundamentally altered.

"As Congress, law enforcers, and regulators in Europe move to restructure and neutralize Google, Amazon, Apple, and Facebook, it is vital that financial regulators ensure that executives at these corporations honestly inform investors about the magnitude of the regulatory risks they now face. Open Markets Institute calls on the Securities and Exchange Commission to protect America's investors from deceptive efforts to underplay the lessons and warnings of yesterday's congressional hearing.”

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