歐盟真能分拆谷歌嗎?
????歐盟議會(huì)的議員們現(xiàn)在想要“分拆谷歌(Google)”。他們聲稱,這家憑借搜索引擎起家,但同時(shí)提供眾多其他產(chǎn)品和服務(wù)的科技巨頭,可以太過(guò)輕松地推廣自己的產(chǎn)品。不過(guò),知名專家學(xué)者們都認(rèn)為,“分拆谷歌”的情況不會(huì)發(fā)生,并且表示這是一種只有在極端情況下才可動(dòng)用的“核選擇”,除非企業(yè)出現(xiàn)了影響更大的丑聞才有借口這么做。 ????今年10月底,歐盟議會(huì)呼吁在歐盟國(guó)家運(yùn)營(yíng)的互聯(lián)網(wǎng)公司將搜索引擎與其它商業(yè)資產(chǎn)進(jìn)行“松綁”。雖然歐盟沒(méi)有直接點(diǎn)名,但此舉明白無(wú)誤是針對(duì)谷歌的。谷歌是歐洲最有影響力的搜索引擎,估計(jì)占據(jù)了歐洲市場(chǎng)90%的份額。 ????這項(xiàng)不具有約束性的決議并沒(méi)有任何法律份量,不過(guò)在歐盟與谷歌圍繞針對(duì)后者的反壟斷調(diào)查進(jìn)行了四年不成功的談判后,該決議等于向歐盟委員會(huì)發(fā)出了最強(qiáng)烈的信號(hào),要求其采取行動(dòng)。谷歌被控使用了故意隱藏競(jìng)爭(zhēng)對(duì)手的網(wǎng)站與服務(wù)等反競(jìng)爭(zhēng)手段。而歐盟議會(huì)最近的行動(dòng)旨在“防止搜索引擎運(yùn)營(yíng)商在營(yíng)銷互聯(lián)服務(wù)時(shí)采用任何濫用手段”。 ????新當(dāng)選的歐盟競(jìng)爭(zhēng)委員會(huì)專員瑪格麗特?維斯塔格爾于今年11月表示,她“需要一些時(shí)間”審核此案,畢竟該案在她的前任杰奎因?阿爾穆尼亞任內(nèi)并未得到解決,而且她在采取進(jìn)一步行動(dòng)之前還將與原告進(jìn)行磋商。 ????那么下一步會(huì)發(fā)生什么?專家表示,下一步會(huì)有幾種可能。 ????美國(guó)司法部前反壟斷律師大衛(wèi)?巴爾托認(rèn)為:“最有可能也最有希望發(fā)生的情況是,繼續(xù)執(zhí)行阿爾穆尼亞離職前已經(jīng)設(shè)定好框架的解決方案?!?/p> ????巴爾托表示,政治因素與來(lái)自谷歌各大競(jìng)爭(zhēng)對(duì)手(包括微軟)的壓力已經(jīng)拖慢了此案的進(jìn)程,“好吸出盡可能多的血”。就在歐盟議會(huì)這次投票后不久,一位未透露姓名的歐盟高級(jí)官員對(duì)路透社(Reuters)表示,歐盟的28個(gè)成員國(guó)已經(jīng)成為美國(guó)公司的“戰(zhàn)場(chǎng)”。巴爾托還指出,在三輪和解談判后,谷歌為解決反壟斷調(diào)查付出的努力,已經(jīng)導(dǎo)致該地區(qū)實(shí)現(xiàn)了更好的競(jìng)爭(zhēng)。 ????現(xiàn)在的一個(gè)問(wèn)題是,歐盟委員會(huì)是否有足夠的證據(jù)支持其從尋求和解轉(zhuǎn)向違法處罰程序?英國(guó)倫敦大學(xué)學(xué)院國(guó)際法學(xué)院(University College London’s Institute of Global Law)主任弗洛里安?瓦格納-馮?帕普對(duì)《財(cái)富》(Fortune)表示,他希望歐盟“要么行動(dòng),要么閉嘴”。反壟斷機(jī)構(gòu)要么控告谷歌藐視歐盟反壟斷法,要么就干脆放棄此案。否則就是無(wú)休止的和解談判,谷歌的支持者和反對(duì)者繼續(xù)向?qū)Ψ綕姟罢闻K水”。 ????如果裁定谷歌違反了反壟斷法,歐盟委員會(huì)就可以采取任何它認(rèn)為必要的措施來(lái)終止谷歌的違法行為。那么這是否包括對(duì)谷歌進(jìn)行可能的拆分?理論上存在這種可能性——?dú)W盟委員會(huì)的反壟斷部門有權(quán)要求一家在該地區(qū)經(jīng)營(yíng)的企業(yè)進(jìn)行重組。不過(guò)帕普愿意賭這種情況不會(huì)發(fā)生。他表示:“歐盟委員會(huì)到目前為止,還從來(lái)沒(méi)有開(kāi)出過(guò)重組藥方”。 |
????Europe’s elected elite want to break up Google. The technology giant, known for its web search engine but offering many other products and services, can too easily promote its own wares, they say. Yet leading experts and academics say it’s not going to happen, calling it a nuclear option that would have made more sense in larger, prior corporate scandals. ????The European Parliament in late October called on Internet companies operating in the region to “unbundle” its search engines from its other commercial properties. Although no companies were named, the motion was aimed squarely at Google GOOG -2.24% , the leading search engine by a long shot in Europe with an estimated 90 percent market share. ????The non-binding resolution had no legal weight, but sent the strongest signal yet to the European Commission to take action after almost four-years worth of unsuccessful negotiations to settle an ongoing antitrust probe into the company’s business practices. The company has been accused of anti-competitiveness including claims it deliberate buried search results of rival sites and services. The recent motion sought to “prevent any abuse in the marketing of interlinked services by operators of search engines.” ????Newly-elected EU competition commissioner MargretheVestagersaid in November that she would “need some time” to review the case, which has been kept open by her predecessor JoaquínAlmunia, and talk to complainants before moving forward. ????So now what? There are several paths forward, experts say. ????“What’s most likely to happen, and what will hopefully happen, is a continuation of the resolution for which Almunia set the framework before he left office,” says David Balto, a former U.S. Justice Department antitrust lawyer. ????Politics and pressure behind the scenes from Google’s competitors—including Microsoft MSFT -0.86% —have dragged the case out “to draw as much blood as possible,” Balto argues. Shortly after the parliament’s vote, one unnamed senior EU official told Reuters that the 28-member state bloc had been used as a “battleground” by American companies. After three rounds of settlement negotiations, Balto says Google’s efforts to address the matter have resulted in better competition in the region. ????One question is whether the Commission has enough evidence to support moving from seeking a settlement to conducting an infringement procedure. Florian Wagner-von Papp, director of the University College London’s Institute of Global Law, tells Fortune that he wishes the EC would “put up or shut up.” Antitrust officials should either charge the search giant with flouting European antitrust law, he says, or drop the case altogether. The alternative? More settlement negotiations and “political mud-slinging” by Google’s supporters and opponents. ????By charging Google with antitrust offenses, the Commission can take any measures it deems necessary to end that infringement. Could that really include a break-up of Google? In theory, yes—the European Commission’s antitrust division has the right to force a company operating in the region to restructure. But Wagner-von Papp is willing to make a big bet that it won’t happen. “The Commission has to date never imposed a structural remedy in an infringement decision,” he says. |
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