EU: US warns against politicizing Google case

As backlash and debate continue to grow following reports that the European Parliament is set to vote on whether it should call for a breakup of Google to reign in its dominance, reports say the US is warning against such action against the technology company.

Reports say the US Mission to the European Union sent an email that highlighted its “concern” for the MEPs proposed motion that, if approved, would have Parliament call on competition authorities to exercise their power to force an unbundling of Google’s search operations from the rest of the company.

”It is important that the process of identifying competitive harms and potential remedies be based on objective and impartial findings and not be politicized,” the email said.

The authors of the motion presented to MEPs – Germany’s Andreas Schwab and Spain’s Ramon Tremosa – were quick to downplay reports, assuring that a Google breakup is just one of several possible proposals. The EU is in the midst of a four-year investigation into Google for alleged anticompetitive behavior in how it displays its search results. The case is currently being handled by the Commission’s new competition chief Margrethe Vestager.

Full content: Reuters

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