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Google’s break-up very much on the agenda, reveals EU’s new antitrust chief
- IBJ Bureau
- Dec 06, 2024
A potential split of Google’s business is still under consideration, according to Teresa Ribera, the European Union’s (EU) new competition chief, who has also pledged to build bridges with incoming US President Donald Trump.
Ms Ribera, a Spanish socialist who started her five-year term this week, has said in an interview with the Bloomberg Television that divestments – touted by her predecessor Margrethe Vestager and the US Department of Justice for the Alphabet unit — are one way of preventing Big Tech firms grabbing too much market power.
“It’s something that is of course on the table, and we try to work together with other relevant competition authorities worldwide, including the US competition authorities,” she said. “It is important to take into consideration this potential division, divestment of some of these businesses. We will be assessing case by case,” she said, adding that she would aim to build on the “legacy” of Ms Vestager, who was a thorn in the side of the Silicon Valley during her tenure.
Ms Vestager had pitched a potential breakup of Google’s adtech arm to address its dominance on digital advertising, while the US has urged broader divestments including the forced sale of the company’s Chrome browser to address its alleged stranglehold on online search.
Ms Ribera has one of the most powerful roles in EU President Ursula von der Leyen’s second five-year term and is also responsible for overseeing the EU’s landmark green deal at a time when the threat of de-industrialisation on the continent looms large. One of her early challenges will be dealing with Mr Trump, who has repeatedly accused Europe of treating the US badly and threatened a trade war. Large EU penalties on US tech firms may be seen as another provocation that merits a strong response from the Trump administration.
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