The co-founders of Google today handed over the reins at the search engine’s parent company as it faces unprecedented scrutiny on both sides of the Atlantic.
Larry Page and Sergey Brin stepped down as chief executive and president of Alphabet — the stock market-listed owner of Google — with Sundar Pichai taking over as boss.
The Indian-born CEO assumes the role with immediate effect and will be plunged straight into tackling antitrust probes from federal Department of Justice and state officials in America.
Boris Johnson pledged to introduce a two per cent “digital services tax” on the revenues of tech companies operating in Britain from next April if the Tories win the election.
A similar three per cent tax has already been introduced in France, leading to a threat of retaliatory tariffs on products such as Champagne and cheese from President Trump.
In a statement, Mr Pichai said: “I’m excited about Alphabet’s focus on tackling big challenges through technology.”
