The co-founders of Google are stepping down as executives of its parent company just as scrutiny from regulators heats up.

Larry Page and Sergey Brin will step aside as CEO and president of Alphabet to make room for Sundar Pichai, who has led Google as CEO for more than four years.

Pichai has been serving as the de facto public and political face of the company for years. Pichai will continue leading shareholder meetings, earnings calls and Congressional testimonies — now with more authority.

Google is facing increasing criticism and investigations from authorities in the U.S. and Europe about its privacy policies and the nature of its many-legged business.

source Associated Press