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Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Alphabet CEOs asked to attend EU hearing, report says

The European Parliament is discussing more digital regulation.

Corinne Reichert Senior Editor
Corinne Reichert (she/her) grew up in Sydney, Australia and moved to California in 2019. She holds degrees in law and communications, and currently writes news, analysis and features for CNET across the topics of electric vehicles, broadband networks, mobile devices, big tech, artificial intelligence, home technology and entertainment. In her spare time, she watches soccer games and F1 races, and goes to Disneyland as often as possible.
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Corinne Reichert
EU flags in front of the Berlaymont, the EU Commission headquarters in Brussels.

EU flags in front of the Berlaymont, the EU Commission headquarters in Brussels.

Thierry Monasse/Getty Images

The European Parliament has invited Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos , Apple  chief  Tim Cook , Facebook helmsman Mark Zuckerberg and Alphabet head Sundar Pichai to Brussels in February or March for a hearing focused on the dominance of their companies, Reuters reported.

"The purpose of the planned hearing is to have an exchange with the chief executive officers of the four globally leading platform companies to learn about their current business models and future concepts," the invitation says, according to the news agency. "The event will contribute to preparing the members of the European Parliament for the upcoming discussions on potential new regulation for the digital sector."

The European Parliament and European Commission have also been looking at ways to limit the spread of fake news and misinformation online -- and, reportedly, to potentially fine companies as part of that effort.

The European Commission's public calendar also shows a virtual meeting with Pichai on Jan. 25.

"We will provide our response to the European Parliament's invitation in due course," a Facebook spokesperson said.

Apple, Alphabet and the European Parliament didn't immediately respond to requests for comment. Amazon declined to comment.