Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL)’s woes in Europe originates not only from European opponents, but from the search giant’s American competitors as well. An earlier report by Reuters cites an unnamed top EU official as saying that American businesses are turning the European Commission into a battleground, turning to the Commission to make complaints and expressing dissatisfaction when rivals offer concessions that they think are not adequate to cover the issues they raise in the first place.
Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL)’s dominance in Europe, which is a subject of the current fire from the parliament, is staggering. The company controls almost 90% of the European search market, a popularity that it does not enjoy in the U.S. According to Reuters, American Antitrust Institute chief Bert Foer explains that it is natural for American tech companies to explore even the furthest jurisdictions with favorable laws. In effect, although there is similarities between American and European antitrust laws, the difference and intensity in implementation has actually provided for competing American companies to wage war against each other in Europe.
On the other hand, the U.S. expressed concern about EU’s commitment to a free market on account of the case that Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL) is facing at the hands of the parliament. U.S. senators Orrin Hatch and Ron Wyden, together with congressmen Dave Camo and Sander Levin noted that the parliament’s proposal to split up Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL) will have an adverse negative effect on US-EU trade relationship.
The parliament’s vote over proposals to unbundle Google is non-binding, however, although it can pressure the European Commission concerning how the antitrust case against the company should be handled. This scenario has raised criticisms that the current attack on top of an ongoing antitrust case against Google is highly politicized. The four year old antitrust investigation which Google is facing in Europe are in part based on complaints and lobbying of other American tech companies that includes Expedia Inc (NASDAQ:EXPE), Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), and Tripadvisor Inc (NASDAQ:TRIP).
This article has been written by Nonito Guntan.
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