EU competition chief holds threat of breaking up Google
telegraph.co.uk
EU competition chief holds threat of breaking up Google
1–10 of 90 posts
Re: EU competition chief holds threat of breaking up Google
#2Honestly comes across as EU sour grapes. The "competition chief" should focus on the regulations that have resulted in low investment and slow innovation instead of trying to "regulate" American tech companies.
Re: EU competition chief holds threat of breaking up Google
#3Does the EU even have the authority to break up Google/Alphabet?
Re: EU competition chief holds threat of breaking up Google
#4Does the EU even have the authority to break up Google/Alphabet?
The EU effectively has the authority to decide who can do business in Europe. So Google/Alphabet presumably could refuse an EU breakup order, but they'd have to more or less exit business in Europe, including all of their various offices there. Both a lot of profit and talent left on the table.
Someone much smarter than me would likely have to determine whether stockholders benefit more from a split up company that can do business in Europe, or a unified company that can't.
Re: EU competition chief holds threat of breaking up Google
#5Honestly comes across as EU sour grapes. The "competition chief" should focus on the regulations that have resulted in low investment and slow innovation instead of trying to "regulate" American tech companies.
You mean like VW being called out in the United States for the diesel scandal was US sour grapes?
Really, I'm all for symmetry with stuff like this if that is what it takes to get these giants to at least attempt to comply with the law.
Re: EU competition chief holds threat of breaking up Google
#6Shouldnt Facebook be first??
Re: EU competition chief holds threat of breaking up Google
#7Does the EU even have the authority to break up Google/Alphabet?
The EU effectively has the authority to decide who can do business in Europe. So Google/Alphabet presumably could refuse an EU breakup order, but they'd have to more or less exit business in Europe, including all of their various offices there. Both a lot of profit and talent left on the table. Someone much smarter than me would likely have to determine whether stockholders benefit more from a split up company that c…
The political backlash could make such a withdrawal rather temporary. Which would IMO push Google into staging such a withdrawal.
Re: EU competition chief holds threat of breaking up Google
#8Does the EU even have the authority to break up Google/Alphabet?
Probably not directly. Indirectly though that can do lots of things. Google will find it hard to sell ads if their salesmen are not allowed to physically enter the EU (and the ones currently in the EU are told their job is illegal - though how that works is an open question). In short the EU do lots of things to harass the EU operations until they decide they have to break up.
Re: EU competition chief holds threat of breaking up Google
#9Does the EU even have the authority to break up Google/Alphabet?
I don't think they really can. Effectively, they'd have to block Google in the EU. Otherwise, Google can technically just stay in the U.S. and sell services. Ad's don't have to be location based, pretty sure a lot of advertising is elicit materials (such as porn) anyway - which already may not be allowed.
Unless you stop people from just heading to the top search engine in the world, they'll keep using it.
Re: EU competition chief holds threat of breaking up Google
#10Honestly comes across as EU sour grapes. The "competition chief" should focus on the regulations that have resulted in low investment and slow innovation instead of trying to "regulate" American tech companies.
You mean like VW being called out in the United States for the diesel scandal was US sour grapes? Really, I'm all for symmetry with stuff like this if that is what it takes to get these giants to at least attempt to comply with the law.
Symmetry was fining Google. The EU fined Google $2.7 billion.
What would symmetry look like from the US side if the EU starts demanding Google be broken up? Unfortunately the EU has no massive, powerful technology businesses to demand be broken up.