Big tech leaders testify in Congress

The CEOs of Amazon, Facebook, Apple and Google testified remotely before Congress on Wednesday, facing criticism about the size and influence of big technology companies.

The world's richest man, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, appeared before Congress for the first time.

The first to question him was Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), who asked about the company's treatment of third-party sellers on the online retailer's site.

"You can set the rules of the game for your competitors but not follow them yourself. Do you think that's fair for mom-and-pop sellers?" Jayapal asked.

"I'm very proud of what we've done for third-party sellers on our platform," Bezos said.

Bezos said Amazon is investigating allegations in a Wall Street Journal report that employees in the company's private label division use information about third-party sellers to develop products that compete with them.

"In the 19th century, we had the robber barons. And in the 21st century, we have the cyber barons," said Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.).

Much of the criticism was focused on Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg over content policies.

Republicans said social media companies are silencing conservative voices.

“Big tech is out to get conservatives,” said Rep. Jim Jordan (D-Ohio).

Democrats say the companies allow misinformation to spread, and they are concerned tech giants act like bullies as they buy out competitors to control big swaths of the market.

The testimony before Congress comes as there are calls on both sides of the aisle to regulate dominant technology companies.

Cox Media Group