European Parliament Calls for Possible Breakup of Google

The European Parliament overwhelmingly passed a resolution Thursday asking the European Commission to consider breaking up Google as a means to address what some in Europe view as Google’s abuse of its dominance in search to benefit its other products.

The vote succeeded by an overwhelming margin of 458 to 173, the Wall Street Journal reports. The resolution is non-binding and Parliament has no power to break up Google on its own. Still, lawmakers are hoping it will put pressure on the European Commission, currently investigating Google’s search practices on the continent, to take action against the tech giant.

The resolution went forward despite the United States expressing “concern” over what it perceives as an unnecessary politicization of the anti-trust probe.

[WSJ]