Call to break up Google in Europe gets louder

BRUSSELS — A European Parliament bid for legislation splitting up Google may send a message that’s too loud to ignore as European Union antitrust regulators review a possible settlement with the owner of the world’s largest search engine.

Google, already grappling with privacy and competition issues, risks another EU headache as some lawmakers seek to follow a successful attack on bankers’ bonuses with measures to break up the search giant.

“This represents a new escalation for Google,” said Mr Greg Sterling, vice-president of strategy and insights for the Local Search Association. “There’s some question about whether breaking up Google would actually happen — however, it does indicate the depth and intensity of the critical antagonism and challenge that Google confronts.”

While the parliament does not have the authority to compel regulators to draft legislation or alter their antitrust probe, it can amend proposals by the European Commission. Lawmakers used this procedure to shoehorn extra curbs on banker bonuses into legislation toughening capital requirements in the wake of the financial crisis.

Attacking Google may be more difficult for the parliament than the bonus rules, according to lawyers. That’s because the assembly has fewer powers in the competition field.

Google, which has more than 90 per cent of the search market in many European countries, is being targeted by a group of parliamentarians who say the commission should consider legislation if it cannot wrap up a lengthy antitrust probe into the company.

“Unbundling search engines from other commercial services” should be considered, according to a draft resolution for a parliament vote on Nov 26 that did not specifically mention Google. The commission’s antitrust investigation into allegations that Google promotes its own services above rivals hits a four- year anniversary later this month.

The EU authority has been weighing complaints for at least five years.

Ms Margrethe Vestager, the EU’s new competition chief, will decide how to take the Google probe forward once she has heard from “those most directly affected”, said Mr Ricardo Cardoso, antitrust spokesman at the commission. BLOOMBERG