Should Google Be Broken Up?
By: Chris Crum

As reported late last week, the European Parliament is considering a call to break up Google. This would specifically involve breaking the search business away from the rest of the business.

According to those with understanding of European law, they don't actually have the authority to require this, but the European Commission, which has been probing Google over antitrust matters for years, and has just come under new leadership, does.

Parliament is said to be putting pressure on the EC to go the break-up route, and it's seen largely as a political move. The U.S., which essentially cleared Google of any antitrust violations, is warning against the break-up proposal. The Wall Street Journal reports:

In an unusual move, the U.S. mission to the EU said Tuesday in an email that it had "noted with concern" the Parliament's draft resolution. "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.

Legal experts expressed similar concerns, describing the Parliament's move as highly unusual and warning it risked setting a dangerous precedent. "It is a very bad signal," said Mario Mariniello, a former antitrust official who now works for Brussels-based think tank Bruegel. "Politicization is now getting to an extreme."

http://www.webpronews.com/should-google-be-broken-up-2014-11

About time they pulled their weight!

Why google?