Brussels – The European Parliament has passed a measure asking the European Commission to consider unbundling search engines from other commercial services. The move is seen as a political one after a lengthy independent investigation of Google by the European Commission did not satisfy the company’s critics.
For more than 40 years, the Computer & Communications Industry Association has often sided with EU and U.S. competition authorities in support of vigorous enforcement, even when focused on our industry’s companies, when the facts and law justified action. The following can be attributed to CCIA Europe Vice President James Waterworth:
“Sound competition policy is too important to a well-functioning economy to let it be influenced by anything but the facts and the law. Interjecting politics into independent legal proceedings undermines the credibility of competition investigations and thus confidence in markets.”
“The European Parliament is an important institution and for it to call for unbundling of search companies is clearly designed to increase the pressure on Commissioner Vestager.”
“Unbundling of companies is an extreme and unworkable solution that makes no sense in fast moving online markets. While clearly targeting Google, the parliament is in fact suggesting all search companies, or online companies with a search facility, may need to be separated. This is of great concern as we try to create a digital single market, and the right conditions for innovators, in the EU.”