Google should be broken up to curb its dominance of the internet, say MEPs. The European Parliament is poised to call for the firm to be split into separate components in the most audacious attempt yet to loosen its grip on the sector. A draft motion backed by several MEPs and leaked to the Financial Times said investigators should look at ‘unbundling search engines from other commercial services’. This would mean separating Google’s search functions from other features such as its YouTube video-sharing website, or its internet maps service. The US firm is already being investigated by the European Commission in a long-running competition probe . One industry source said: ‘These guys are calling for the break-up of Google.’ The US firm is already being investigated by the European Commission in a long-running competition probe. While the European Parliament has no powers to ban or block Google, the Commission is its executive arm and can levy fines or bring in new rules to curb the company’s power. Google has grown to dominate the internet and international telecoms markets since it was set up in a garage in 1998. Its search engine accounts for two-thirds of all online searches, leaving rivals Bing and Yahoo trailing. It also provides software for 80 per cent of the mobile phones sold across the world with its Android operating system, while its Chrome internet browser is used by roughly 30 per cent of home computers. It has also photographed every road in the UK and many other parts of the world in order to build up its ‘street view’ function, which allows users to see images of almost every home in Britain. During this project, the company inadvertently harvested data from millions of UK homes, which it was later ordered to delete or face criminal charges. Google has also begun deleting search results for embarrassing articles under the European Court of Justice’s new controversial ‘right to be forgotten’ Google has also begun deleting search results for embarrassing articles under the European Court of Justice’s new controversial ‘right to be forgotten’. The UK Information Commissioner’s Office has criticised the company in the past for having ‘baffling’ privacy rules that leave consumers in the dark about how their data will be used. The company, which has an unofficial motto of ‘do no evil’, has also been criticised for its ‘immoral’ tax policies that see it funnel large amount of money into offshore havens. Five years ago the EC launched a competition investigation into Google over fears it was stifling rivals by promoting its own websites and services. The company has repeatedly – but unsuccessfully – tried to settle the case, proposing to pay a fine if none of the findings of the investigation would be made public. The EC’s digital chief, Günther Oettinger, has taken a hard line on the company since taking office in September. Speaking shortly after his appointment, he said: ‘When it comes to Google, in the light of complaints that have been received, you have to decide: are you going to get into a compromise with Google?’ The motion, set to be presented in the European Parliament in the next few days ahead of a vote on Thursday, will increase pressure on the Commission to tighten its grip on Google. German MEP Andreas Schwab, who is one of the motion’s backers, said splitting up the company ‘cannot be excluded’ as an option. Spanish MEP Ramon Tremosa said Google was unlikely to release its algorithm – which it uses to rank search results – to competitors, which leaves splitting it up as the only other viable option. Google has refused to comment, but executives at the company are reported to be outraged at the suggestion and have slammed it as ‘politically motivated’.
European Parliament is poised to call for firm to be split up .
Would mean separating Google's search function from other features .
US firm is already being investigated in a long-running competition probe .
Google should be broken up to curb its dominance of the internet, say MEPs. The European Parliament is poised to call for the firm to be split into separate components in the most audacious attempt yet to loosen its grip on the sector. A draft motion backed by several MEPs and leaked to the Financial Times said investigators should look at ‘unbundling search engines from other commercial services’. This would mean separating Google’s search functions from other features such as its YouTube video-sharing website, or its internet maps service. The US firm is already being investigated by the European Commission in a long-running competition probe . One industry source said: ‘These guys are calling for the break-up of Google.’ The US firm is already being investigated by the European Commission in a long-running competition probe. While the European Parliament has no powers to ban or block Google, the Commission is its executive arm and can levy fines or bring in new rules to curb the company’s power. Google has grown to dominate the internet and international telecoms markets since it was set up in a garage in 1998. Its search engine accounts for two-thirds of all online searches, leaving rivals Bing and Yahoo trailing. It also provides software for 80 per cent of the mobile phones sold across the world with its Android operating system, while its Chrome internet browser is used by roughly 30 per cent of home computers. It has also photographed every road in the UK and many other parts of the world in order to build up its ‘street view’ function, which allows users to see images of almost every home in Britain. During this project, the company inadvertently harvested data from millions of UK homes, which it was later ordered to delete or face criminal charges. Google has also begun deleting search results for embarrassing articles under the European Court of Justice’s new controversial ‘right to be forgotten’ Google has also begun deleting search results for embarrassing articles under the European Court of Justice’s new controversial ‘right to be forgotten’. The UK Information Commissioner’s Office has criticised the company in the past for having ‘baffling’ privacy rules that leave consumers in the dark about how their data will be used. The company, which has an unofficial motto of ‘do no evil’, has also been criticised for its ‘immoral’ tax policies that see it funnel large amount of money into offshore havens. Five years ago the EC launched a competition investigation into Google over fears it was stifling rivals by promoting its own websites and services. The company has repeatedly – but unsuccessfully – tried to settle the case, proposing to pay a fine if none of the findings of the investigation would be made public. The EC’s digital chief, Günther Oettinger, has taken a hard line on the company since taking office in September. Speaking shortly after his appointment, he said: ‘When it comes to Google, in the light of complaints that have been received, you have to decide: are you going to get into a compromise with Google?’ The motion, set to be presented in the European Parliament in the next few days ahead of a vote on Thursday, will increase pressure on the Commission to tighten its grip on Google. German MEP Andreas Schwab, who is one of the motion’s backers, said splitting up the company ‘cannot be excluded’ as an option. Spanish MEP Ramon Tremosa said Google was unlikely to release its algorithm – which it uses to rank search results – to competitors, which leaves splitting it up as the only other viable option. Google has refused to comment, but executives at the company are reported to be outraged at the suggestion and have slammed it as ‘politically motivated’.
Parliament is poised to call for the firm to be separating Google’s search functions from other firm is already being investigated by the European Commission in a long-running competition Commission in a long-running competition probe.