Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge
The House Judiciary Antitrust Subcommittee has sent four request for information letters to Amazon, Facebook, Alphabet, and Apple, asking for closely held details on some of the most powerful companies in Silicon Valley. It released the letters publicly this morning, and the companies must respond by October 14th.
“There is growing evidence that a handful of corporations have come to capture an outsized share of online commerce and communications,” said Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) in a statement. These letters should help the committee understand “the degree to which these intermediaries enjoy market power, how they are using that market power, whether they are using their market power in ways that have harmed consumers and competition,…