Google-bashing not motive, says Andreas Schwab

The man behind the European Parliament's bid to rein in search engines says he's not out to bash Google Inc. Andreas Schwab, a member of German chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats, dismissed as an over-reaction concerns that Europe's reputation will be hit by his call for regulators to consider splitting up search engines as a last resort.

Comments from the US and elsewhere that “to mention this word” unbundling “will create a difficult assessment of the European Union as a whole” is a “little bit too far-reaching”, Schwab said in an interview ahead of a debate at the parliament in Strasbourg, France, about the internet.

“We are taking this seriously and we are seeing what can be done on this. We don’t want to bash anyone.”

Schwab is among 15 lawmakers who are sponsoring a resolution that would ask the European Union’s executive arm to consider “unbundling search engines from other commercial services”. The document, which the assembly will decide whether to back tomorrow, doesn’t mention the company. The US government and an industry group also voiced concerns over the assembly’s attempt to influence an ongoing antitrust probe.

Google, already grappling with a range of legal issues in Europe, was told by data-protection officials to cut search links worldwide on request. While Google has remained silent on the parliament plan, the company has won support from Germany's Guenther Oettinger, the EU's digital economy commissioner, who said a break-up wouldn't happen on his watch.

Splitting Google is merely one of several options the European Commission should consider, Schwab said. Regulators that sought to define internet companies as “critical infrastructure” in proposed cybersecurity rules could extend that definition to its lengthy antitrust probe. – (Bloomberg)