European Commissioner opposes breaking up Google

Google will not be broken up if it is up to European Commissioner Günther Oettinger. Last week it was announced that members of the European Parliament would consider this, but according to Oettinger a split “does not fit in a market economy, but in a planned economy”.

Under his leadership, “no expropriations or divisions” will take place, Oettinger told a German journalist. According to the European Commissioner for the Digital Economy and Society, Europe must instead become more innovative in order to regain market share.

Oettinger’s colleague Andrus Ansip, European Commissioner for the Digital Internal Market, is less certain about Reuters news agency. “I’m not saying they should be broken up just yet,” Ansip said more broadly of monopolists. “We have to examine very carefully where the problems are and then look for solutions.” The European Commissioner, who has a higher position than Oettinger, also said he understands the concerns from the European Parliament.

Last week it appeared that MEPs proposed a split of Google, partly because the company would learn too much about its customers. However, MEPs told Reuters that breaking up Google was “just one of the ideas proposed”.