European Parliament approves resolution for Google break-up

PanARMENIAN.Net - The European Parliament on Thursday, Nov 27, approved a nonbinding resolution for Google to be broken up into separate companies.

There is no immediate threat to Google from the vote, which amounts to little more than political posturing because the Parliament has no formal power over antitrust policy in the 28-member trade bloc, the New York Times reports.

But the vote, held at the Parliament in Strasbourg, France, underscored the increasing trans-Atlantic tensions over the dominant role Google, an American technology titan, plays in Europe. The vote follows a move on Wednesday to rein in Google, by a separate European body that is meant to protect the privacy of European citizens.

Thursday’s vote could raise pressure on Margrethe Vestager, the bloc’s recently installed competition commissioner, to speed up a decision on whether to bring formal antitrust charges against Google.

The vote on Thursday was on a broader resolution on the digital economy that passed with 384 votes in favor, 174 against and 56 abstentions. The resolution was backed by large numbers of lawmakers from the European People’s Party and the Socialists & Democrats, the two main political blocs at the Parliament, which is the only directly elected body in the European Union.