US Congress wants Apple, Facebook, Amazon and Alphabet CEOs to testify in antitrust probe

The letter raises the possibility that if the CEOs of Apple, Alphabet, Facebook and Amazon do not come forward for the hearing voluntarily, subpoenas may be issued to force them to do so.

The lawmakers want the tech giants to furnish documents that have been produced in relation to other competition probes and internal communications. (AP)

US House of Representatives Committee on the Judiciary has sent letters to technology giants Apple, Facebook, Amazon and Alphabet, asking them to confirm by Sunday if their chief executives will testify as part of the committee's tech competition investigation, Axios reported.

Amid growing scrutiny over the power of tech platforms, the panel wants to hold the hearing with the top tech executives next month, said the report.

The letter raises the possibility that if the CEOs of Apple, Alphabet, Facebook and Amazon do not come forward for the hearing voluntarily, subpoenas may be issued to force them to do so.

In statement to Axios, committee chair David Cicilline said the documents that the investigators sought were "essential" to the probe and that requests like this were part of the "appropriate process" to obtain them.

The lawmakers want the tech giants to furnish documents that have been produced in relation to other competition probes and internal communications.

The letters that the committee sent also posed questions related to possible harms to competition in the market.