At this stage of the investigation, we believe that Google's conduct may amount to an abuse of a dominant position.

If proven, these conducts would be illegal under our rules.

We should look ahead. If we come to the conclusion that these practices are illegal,

we'll need to ensure that they are brought effectively to an end.

And that was the voice of the European Union's Commissioner for Competition, Marguerta Vesteyer,

with an announcement that may prove to be a game changer in the bloc's regulatory clash with

big tech. I'm James Panicki coming to you from the Lexus Nexus officers in Melbourne, Australia.

Welcome to M-Lexis weekly podcast covering the biggest regulatory stories of the moment,

and they don't get much bigger than this one.

It's not just that the European Commission suspects that Google's ad business is anti-competitive,

what's groundbreaking is the solution that the Commission is pointing to.

Here's what Vestaya had to say about that last week.

A remedy requiring Google to just change its behavior would allow Google to do what it has

been doing so far just under a different disguise.

Should the Commission conclude that Google acted in an illegal manner, it might require

Google to divest part of its services. For instance,

Google could divest its cell site tool, DFP and ADEX. By doing so, we would put an end to the

conflict of interest. That's right. The Commission is considering some old-school trust-busting

involving a forced

breakup of Google's ad business. As we'll hear on today's podcast, this is radical stuff

in an EU context. However, the Commission can rely on some transatlantic political coverage

as well. It's a fascinating, evolving story that's been covered meticulously by our Brussels-based

...