WOULD THEY DO IN THAT EVENT?
THE GUY WHO LITERALLY WROTE THE
BOOK ON THE SUBJECT, STEPHEN
LEVY, FACEBOOK, THE INSIDE
STORY.
STEPHEN LET’S TALK A LITTLE BIT
ABOUT A GUY YOU KNOW WELL, MARK
ZUCKERBERG, IF HE ASKED TO
APPEAR BEFORE ANOTHER COMMITTEE
AND HE EITHER DRAGS HIS FEET OR
IGNORES THE REQUEST AND HE IS
SUBPOENAED WHAT DOES HE DO?
>> WELL, I THINK IF HE IS
SUBPOENAED SHOWS UP.
HE LONG AGO GIVEN UP TRYING TO
AVOID CONGRESSIONAL HEARINGS.
HE HAS BEEN THROUGH IT A FEW
TIMES.
HE IS GOING TO DO IT AGAIN.
HE HAD A MARATHON SESSION, IF
YOU REMEMBER THE FIRST TIME HE
CAME TO CONGRESS IN EARLY 2018.
NEIL: SURE.
>> HE DID THREE SESSIONS REALLY
AND, THE HOUSE AND THE SENATE,
ALL DAY AFFAIRS FOR TWO DAYS.
SO HE HAS PROVED HIS STAMINA
AND, IF HE IS SUBPOENAED HE WILL
SHOW UP.
HE WON’T BE HAPPY ABOUT IT
BECAUSE I THINK IT WILL BE A
REPLAY OF SOME OF THE
QUESTIONING WE’VE SEEN BEFORE
WHERE PEOPLE IN THE GOP SIDE
WILL ACCUSE HIM OF BIAS.
PEOPLE ON THE DEMOCRAT SIDE WILL
SAY THERE IS NO BIAS.
IT WILL GO BACK AND FORTH.
I’M NOT QUITE SURE WHAT IT WILL
ACCOMPLISH.
NEIL: ONE THING THAT BOTH
PARTIES AGREE ON FOR DIFFERENT
REASONS IS THAT MAYBE IT IS TIME
TO SORT OF CORRAL THESE GUYS IN
THERE.
THEY’RE GETTING TOO BIG FOR
THEIR BRITCHES OR THEY’RE DOING
FAR MORE THAN WE THOUGHT THEY
SHOULD AND MAYBE THE JUSTICE
DEPARTMENT SUIT AGAINST GOOGLE
IS THE OPENING SALVO.
NO MATTER WHO WINS IN NOVEMBER.
NO MATTER WHAT THE MAKEUP OF
CONGRESS AND WHITE HOUSE WILL BE
ON ALL OF THAT, THAT ALL THE BIG
TECH GUYS HAVE TARGETS ON THEIR
BACK.
WHAT DO YOU THINK?
>> I AGREE WITH YOU.
TODAY IS A SIGNAL DAY WHAT IS
KNOWN AS THE TECH LASH.
AFTER ALL THIS TALK FINALLY THE
GOVERNMENT HAS DONE SOMETHING
FOR ACTION OF THE THEY FILED A
HUGE SUIT AGAINST GOOGLE.
THEY SAID, THEY MADE A POINT TO
SAY I WAS ON A CALL RECENTLY
THIS, IS THE BIGGEST DEAL SINCE
THE MICROSOFT SUIT.
THEY DON’T OFTEN INVOKE THE
SHERMAN ACT IN ANTITRUST SUITS.
THEY’RE INVOKING THE SUIT TWO
DECADES AGO WHERE MICROSOFT
WHICH LOOMED OVER THE TECHNOLOGY
INDUSTRY LIKE THE 800-POUND
GORILLA WAS FINALLY TAMED EVEN
THOUGH MICROSOFT WON THE SUIT
ULTIMATELY ON APPEAL, AND WASN’T
BROKEN UP, THE EFFECT OWN
MICROSOFT ALLOWED COMPANIES LIKE
GOOGLE TO EMERGE.
NEIL: YOU KNOW, STEVEN, JUST
LOOKING AT THE STOCK MARKET
REACTION ON GOOGLE ALPHABET
STOCK, IT’S UP, DO YOU THINK,
THE WORST-CASE SCENARIO FOR
INVESTORS IS SO THEY BREAK THE
COMPANY UP.
THEN I OWN MORE OF SOMETHING I
KIND OF LIKE.
IT MIGHT BE THE SAME WAY PEOPLE
PLAYED THE AT&T AND BREAKUP OF
AT&T IN THE 1980s?
>> THEY’RE NOT GOING TO BREAK
GOOGLE UP.
THEY’RE NOT EVEN THREATENING TO
DO THAT.
WHAT I FOUND INTERESTING TO LOOK
AT, GOOGLE IS NOT A SEPARATE
COMPANY.
THIS IS PART OF A HOLDING
COMPANY CALLED ALPHABET.
THIS HAPPENED FIVE YEARS AGO.
WHEN THEY SWITCHED THE NAME OF
THE COMPANY AND GOOGLE IS NOW A
DIVISION IN THIS LARGER COMPANY
CALLED ALPHABET.
THE WORD ALPHABET APPEARS JUST
ONCE IN THE COMPLAINT, A LITTLE
PARENTHESES, GOOGLE BELONGS TO
ALPHABET.
THEY’RE NOT TRYING TO DO A
BREAKUP.
THEY’RE NOT TALKING ABOUT
PULLING YOUTUBE AWAY FROM
GOOGLE.
YOU THINK IN TERMS OF A BREAKUP.
THEY ARE GOING AGAINST SOME OF
THE DEALS THAT GOOGLE MADE TO
PUT THEIR SEARCH ENGINE AS
DEFAULT IN THINGS LIKE THE APPLE
SEARCH ENGINE OR THE APPLE
BROWSER AND THE MOZILLA BROWSER
AND SOME OF THESE PHONES.
NEIL: I THINK THAT IS A VERY