US Congress calls on Amazon CEO to testify
Bezos may be questioned over accusations of firm's abuse of market power, warehouse staff
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A protester standing on her car, holding up a sign referring to Amazon chief executive Jeff Bezos and blocking traffic as part of a "car caravan" protest on Friday in Seattle, Washington, to demand that the city's largest businesses, including Amazon, be taxed.
PHOTO: AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
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WASHINGTON • The United States House Judiciary Committee has called on Amazon chief executive Jeff Bezos to testify before Congress, in a major escalation of its investigation into the country's largest technology companies.
Mr Bezos, the world's richest person, is the highest-profile executive called to testify as part of the antitrust investigation. The hearing would allow lawmakers to question him about accusations that Amazon abuses its market power in online retail, mistreats warehouse workers and hurts small businesses.
Many other tech leaders, including Mr Tim Cook of Apple, Mr Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook and Mr Sundar Pichai of Google, have appeared before Congress in recent years, answering questions under oath on issues such as privacy and the spread of disinformation.
Mr Bezos has not yet endured the same spotlight. The judiciary committee's antitrust subcommittee has for months been investigating the power of Amazon, along with that of Facebook, Google and Apple.
Last year, lawmakers requested a slew of internal documents from the companies, including e-mails between top executives.
The move on Friday, in a letter to Mr Bezos, is a sign that the inquiry has not stopped because of the coronavirus pandemic.
A bipartisan group of lawmakers led by the Democratic chairman of the committee, Representative Jerrold Nadler of New York, threatened to use the panel's power to legally compel Mr Bezos to testify if he did not do so willingly, a serious step in any congressional investigation.
"Although we expect that you will testify on a voluntary basis, we reserve the right to resort to compulsory process if necessary," the lawmakers wrote to Mr Bezos.
An Amazon spokesman did not comment on Friday on Mr Bezos' plans.
President Donald Trump has frequently targeted Mr Bezos with criticism and tried to link Amazon to The Washington Post when attacking the paper. The publication is owned by Mr Bezos personally, and has no corporate relationship with Amazon.
Last year, the Pentagon awarded a US$10 billion (S$14.2 billion) cloud computing contract to Microsoft over Amazon's rival bid; Amazon has sued, saying Mr Trump's antagonism was a factor.
About a week ago, an article in The Wall Street Journal detailed how Amazon employees had used data from third-party sellers to hone the company's private label offerings, potentially contradicting an Amazon lawyer's testimony to the committee last year.
The lawmakers said in their letter that if the "article is accurate, then statements Amazon made to the committee about the company's business practices appear to be misleading, and possibly criminally false or perjurious".
Mr Drew Herdener, an Amazon spokesman, said in a statement that "we strictly prohibit employees from using non-public, seller-specific data to determine which private label products to launch".
"While we don't believe these claims made by The Wall Street Journal are accurate, we take these allegations very seriously and have launched an internal investigation," Mr Herdener added.
It is not clear exactly when Mr Bezos would appear before the committee, as Congress has curtailed its usual business during the pandemic.
The public has increasingly turned to Amazon's online store during the pandemic. Millions of homebound Americans have used the company's delivery service to order food and other essential items, pushing its network of warehouses to its limits.
Last Thursday, Amazon reported US$75.5 billion in sales in the latest quarter, up 26 per cent from the same period a year earlier.
But its critics have seized on this moment as well. This growing coalition of workers, activists and lawmakers say the company has not done enough to protect its front-line workers, calling on the company to offer hazard pay and communicate better with warehouse staff.
In the financial report last Thursday, Mr Bezos said the company planned to spend US$4 billion or more in the next quarter "on Covid-related expenses getting products to customers and keeping employees safe".
NYTIMES
