European Union lawmakers seeking to combat what they consider anti-competitive behaviour by Google are weighing a call to split up companies that focus on web search, according to the European Parliament.
A draft obtained by Bloomberg News asks regulators to tackle what it says are abusive practices by the Internet search provider.
The European Commission should "consider proposals with the aim of unbundling search engines from other commercial services" to aid Europe's digital industry, according to another version of a draft resolution prepared by members of the European People's Party, which didn't specifically mention Google.
Google, which has more than 90 per cent of the search market in many European countries, is facing threats to its business, including a possible Internet copyright levy, that add to a lengthy EU anti-trust investigation into allegations that it discriminates against rivals.
Lawmakers Andreas Schwab and Ramon Tremosa called for legislation if the EU can't resolve its probe.
"This motion, especially if passed by Parliament, threatens to undermine the credibility of a long-running commission investigation by blatantly interjecting politics into a legal process," Ed Black, the head of the Washington DC-based Computer and Communications Industry Association, said in an e-mailed statement.
Such a politicisation is "deeply troubling".
Bloomberg, edited by ESM
