Minister of State for Culture Weimer: Google should be broken up

Minister of State for Culture Wolfram Weimer (independent) wants to continue taking action against Big Tech and is focusing on a US corporation: "The best thing would be to break up Google," the publisher told the newsletter service Politico Industrie & Handel. The search engine and cloud giant's monopoly threatens freedom of expression. Google is thus also changing the democratic foundation of Germany. The company should therefore be broken up under antitrust law.

"We must address Google in all areas of action," Weimer emphasized, according to Politico. The company cannot continue to pay hardly any taxes on its profits in Germany. "They earn billions here with huge margins and sneak out via Dublin," he criticizes. This is socially unjust, he says. At Weimer's instigation, the federal government is also aiming to introduce an investment obligation for streaming providers such as Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Disney in German film productions.

Google has its European headquarters in Dublin to benefit from Ireland's low corporate taxes and favorable economic environment. The island's government offers one of the lowest corporate tax rates in Europe at 12.5 percent, which is considered a major incentive for multinational corporations such as Apple and Meta. This strategy has raised significant concerns and criticism as it is considered a means of aggressive tax avoidance. The most criticized model, which Google also used, was the "Double Irish With a Dutch Sandwich. "

Platform solidarity is controversial

Ireland officially abolished this tax trick in 2015 after international pressure. Nevertheless, low corporate taxes and the possibility of exploiting tax advantages through other models remain an issue. Current initiatives, such as the proposal for a global minimum tax of 15 percent, are intended to counteract such practices. Weimer announced back in the spring that he wanted to introduce a 10 percent digital tax for tech companies and is sticking to this principle. However, his cabinet colleague, Economics Minister Katherina Reiche (CDU), does not think much of such a "platform solidarity tax."

Weimer's proposal opens a new front in the tariff dispute with US President Donald Trump. The EU Commission initially withdrew a similar initiative in the summer after the Republican had promised further tariffs. Even after the trade deal with the EU was concluded, Trump frequently threatened to significantly increase tariffs on products from countries that impose overly strict rules on US internet giants. In Europe, the Washington administration has its sights set primarily on the Digital Services Act (DSA) and the Digital Markets Act (DMA). A new digital tax and further tough antitrust penalties against US companies are likely to exacerbate tensions.

The EU is also threatening to break up companies

In early September, the EU antitrust authority imposed a fine of €2.95 billion on Google. The accusation is "abusive practices" in the online advertising market. The EU Commission is now demanding a far-reaching solution: Google must present a convincing plan to break up its monopoly within 60 days. If it fails to comply with this demand, a breakup is on the cards. Brussels believes that only the sale of parts of the business model can resolve the existing conflicts of interest. Trump responded to this approach by the EU with sharp threats.

An alliance of various organizations – e.g. LobbyControl, Rebalance Now und WeMove Europe –has collected over 150,000 signatures on a petition calling for Google to be broken up under antitrust law. They plan to hand it over at the Commission's headquarters in Brussels in front of the Berlaymont building on Monday morning.

Last year, the US Department of Justice also considered splitting off Google's advertising system, Chrome browser, or its entire mobile division, including Android. A US federal judge confirmed the company's monopoly status but recently refrained from splitting up the corporation.

(mho)