Tech's major powers face heat during House antitrust hearing

Wednesday's House antitrust hearing with the CEOs of Facebook, Google, Amazon and Apple went down some politically fraught rabbit holes, but also saw tech's most powerful figures face sharper questions than they've seen before from Washington.

What's happening: Republicans slammed the companies for alleged anti-conservative bias, but Democrats largely narrowed their focus to possible competitive abuses, putting the CEOs on their back feet and producing some surprising admissions.

Why it matters: The face-off is the culmination of a protracted conflict between Washington and Silicon Valley that has seen members of both parties push antitrust enforcement as a cure for any number of Big Tech ills.

What they're saying: Rep. David Cicilline, the House Judiciary antitrust subcommittee chair overseeing the hearing, sought to bring prosecutorial zeal to the proceedings, starting with questions posed to Google CEO Sundar Pichai.