The EU reportedly wants Google to separate search from the rest of its business

Google’s ongoing battle with the European Union may have just taken a nasty turn. A new draft motion from the European Parliament is looking to separate the outfit’s search business from the rest of its operations. This comes after years of accusations against the company claiming that it exercises adverse practices, showcasing its own products while burying its competition.

This proposed measure has the support from the European People’s Party and the European Socialists & Democrats and is set to be voted on next Thursday, according to the Financial Times.

“A draft motion seen by the Financial Times says that “unbundling [of] search engines from other commercial services” should be considered as a potential solution to Google’s dominance. It has the backing of the parliament’s two main political blocs, the European People’s Party and the Socialists. 

A vote to effectively single out a big US company for censure is extremely rare in the European parliament and is in part a reflection of how Germany’s politicians have turned against Google this year.”

The European Parliament doesn’t have the authority to split Google up and cannot force the company to make these changes, but with enough support, the European Commission may step in and intervene. Google won’t likely take this lying down and will probably push back, however we might have to put down our turkey legs (at least in the US) to see how this plays out next week.