|
 European politicians have grown increasingly concerned about
Google's and other American companies' command of the Internet
industry, and have sought ways to curb their power. A public call
for a break-up would be the most far-reaching action proposed and a
significant threat to Google's business.
The draft motion does not mention Google or any specific search
engine, though Google is by far the dominant provider of such
services in Europe with an estimated 90 percent market share.
Earlier on Friday, the Financial Times described a draft motion as
calling for a break-up of Google.
Google declined to comment.
The motion seen by Reuters "calls on the Commission to consider
proposals with the aim of unbundling search engines from other
commercial services as one potential long-term solution" to leveling
the competitive playing field.
Parliament has no power to initiate legislation and lacks the
authority to break up corporations, and while the draft motion is a
non-binding resolution, it would step up the pressure on the
European Commission to act against Google.
Google already faces stern criticism in Europe about everything from
privacy to tax policies, and has been wrestling with a European
court’s ruling that requires it to remove links from search results
that individuals find objectionable.
The company has grown so large as to inspire distrust in many
corners, with a chorus of public criticism from politicians and
business executives.
"It’s a strong expression of the fact that things are going to
change,” said Gary Reback, a U.S. attorney who has filed complaints
on behalf of companies against Google over fair search. “The
parliament doesn’t bind the commission for sure, but they have to
listen.”
RESOLUTION “VERY LIKELY” TO BE ADOPTED
Europe's new antitrust chief said she would take some time to decide
on the next step of the four-year investigation into the Internet
search leader, after her predecessor had scrapped a proposed
settlement with the company.
European Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager, who took over
from Joaquin Almunia on Nov. 1, said she would take a representative
sample of views from parties involved in the case and check on the
latest industry developments before taking any action.
Resentment, however, has been building in Europe for years.
Google has tried to counter that mistrust, which its executives
believe is linked to European perceptions of the United States in
general. But recent revelations about U.S. surveillance practices,
including that Washington monitored German Chancellor Angela
Merkel's phone, have ignited a strong backlash, particularly in
Germany, where the historic experiences of Nazism and Communism have
left people deeply suspicious of powerful institutions controlling
personal data.
Andreas Schwab, the German Christian Democrat lawmaker who
co-sponsored the resolution, told Reuters it was “very likely” it
would be adopted as both his own center-right group, the largest in
parliament, and the main center-left group supported it. Schwab
proposed the resolution along with Spanish centrist Ramon Tremosa
earlier this week.
[to top of second column] |
In a statement on Wednesday, the two said Google had failed to
propose adequate remedies during the antitrust investigation by the
commission. Vestager has said she wants time to study the dossier
after her predecessor decided against a settlement with Google that
would have ended the case.
Google ”continued thereby to suppress competition to the detriment
of European consumers and businesses,“ Schwab and Tremosa said.
In a position paper, they cited a number of possible solutions to
what they saw as Google’s abusive dominant position in search
engines and its ability to drive Internet traffic to favored sites.
If these failed, then, they suggested, legislation should be tried.
“In case the proceedings against Google carry on without any
satisfying decisions and the current anti-competitive behavior
continues to exist, a regulation of the dominant online web search
should be envisaged,” they said.
Reflecting broad suspicion of Google, other parties in parliament
may also support the non-binding resolution.
Jan Philipp Albrecht of the Greens said: "Search engines like Google
should not be allowed to use their market power to push forward
other commercial activities of the same company.
Officials at the European Commission could not be immediately
reached for comment.
It was also not clear how U.S. regulators would respond. In a major
victory for Google, U.S. regulators in 2013 ended an investigation
into the Internet company and concluded that it had not manipulated
Web search results to hurt rivals. It did get Google to agree to
change some of its business practices, including halting the
"scraping" of reviews and other data from rivals' websites for its
own products.
Rivals such as Yelp Inc <YELP.N> argue that the company is squeezing
them out in Internet search results.
The review site, which has complained that Google ranks its own
content higher than Yelp's, said on Friday that the Internet search
service harms users by favoring its own products, for instance
social network Google+, which also carries review content.
"By hardwiring Google+ in the largest category of search, Google
isn’t just stifling innovation, it's harming consumers," Luther
Lowe, Yelp Director of Public Policy, told Reuters.
(Additional reporting by Dan Levine in San Francisco, writing by
Edwin Chan; editing by James Dalgleish, Peter Henderson and Bernard
Orr)
[© 2014 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2014 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. |
