Major antitrust hearing with big tech CEOs likely to be postponed

The hearing now coincides with a memorial service for the late Rep. John Lewis.

What you need to know

• Several big tech CEOs are due to testify to an antitrust committee on Monday.
• That hearing is likely to be postponed.
• The hearing now coincides with a memorial service for the late Rep. John Lewis.

A House antitrust hearing on Monday, July 27, is likely to be postponed because it coincides with a memorial service for John Lewis.

As CNBC reports:

The blockbuster antitrust hearing featuring CEOs from Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Google scheduled for Monday will likely be postponed, two people familiar with the matter told CNBC, due to a conflict with the memorial service for the late Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga.

The House Judiciary Committee and the Antitrust Subcommittee, which is set to host the hearing, have not yet confirmed the move and spokespeople did not immediately comment.

The report notes that a special ceremony at the U.S. Capitol Rotunda will be held for Lewis at 2 pm, Monday, July 27, whilst the antitrust hearing was supposed to begin at noon.

The committee's progress has already been hampered by the COVID-19 pandemic, back in January the Subcommittee's chairman David Cicilline said he expected the report to be completed by April, indicating a delay of several months.

The hearing and review are dedicated to examining laws around antitrust, in particular those related to overseeing digital marketplaces. Apple and others have come under major scrutiny in recent months over alleged antitrust practices such as Apple's 30% cut of all digital sales that go through its platform.

Earlier this week, Apple somewhat controversialy released its own-backed study into digital marketplaces, which suggested its 30% cut was similar to many other online stores including the App Store, Google Play Store, and the Amazon Appstore.