News Corp has warned that Google’s “overwhelming power” is a threat to Europe’s media and urged Brussels to stop the American technology giant becoming even more influential.
The publishing company, which owns The Times, The Sun and The Wall Street Journal, said that Google had gone from a feisty startup to a “cynical” multinational that abuses its dominance of internet searches, stifles competition and facilitates piracy.
“The company’s power increases with each passing day,” Robert Thomson, News Corp’s chief executive, wrote to Joaquin Almunia, Europe’s competition commissioner, as pressure from competitors and European politicians mounted last week.
Google has been under investigation by the European Commission since 2010 after allegations of anti-competitive practices, including that it manipulates its search engine to favour products