EU: The verdict is in, and MEPs want a Google breakup

Members of the European Parliament voted Thursday to call on the European Commission to force an unbundling of Google operations to lessen the company’s market dominance, but reports say a materialization of such a plan is unlikely.

Parliament voted 384-174 in favor of calling on the Commission to consider “unbundling search engines from other commercial services.” While the motion did not mention Google by name, it is widely accepted that the effort aims to crack down on the US conglomerate as it continues with a four-year investigation for alleged anticompetitive practices in the way it displays search results.

Google holds more than 90 percent of the online search market in several EU member states, say reports.

The vote sends a powerful message about the reputation Google has in the EU, but experts note that it is unlikely the Commission will act on Parliament’s vote. EU digital economy commissioner Guenther Oettinger said a Google breakup is not “what we can expect” in response to Thursday’s vote.

Full content: Businessweek

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