Apple and Google must pay billion-euro fines to the EU: what rulings have been issued against Big Tech?
The EU takes revenge on Big Tech Apple and Google, with the confirmation of heavy fines and penalties for the giants forced to pay billions of euros.
Specifically, Alphabet lost the battle to cancel the record fine of 2.4 billion euros imposed by the European Union for abusing its monopoly power over competing shopping services.
Apple also failed to prevail over the European Union and will have to pay 13 billion euros in back taxes to Ireland. All the details of the record fines and the European policy against the tech giants.
The Google case, why must it pay the fine to the EU?
The European Court of Justice has confirmed the fine of 2.4 billion euros imposed on Google for abuse of a dominant position.
The fine stems from an antitrust investigation by the European Commission, the European Union’s executive body, that concluded in 2017, which found that the U.S. tech giant illegally exploited its dominant position in search engines to rank its products higher.
Margrethe Vestager, who is leaving the Brussels-based body after two terms as competition commissioner, has made Alphabet Inc.’s Google a prime target since taking office in 2014.
The focus on the web giant by EU antitrust enforcers has led to multiple fines against the company, totaling more than €8 billion.
Regulators are increasing pressure on Alphabet-owned Google globally. In March, the EU launched an investigation into the giant under its Digital Markets Act, which examines the practices of tech companies in Europe.
In the United States, Google is involved in an antitrust case against the Department of Justice over its advertising business, after losing another antitrust case earlier this year.
Apple, €13 billion fine. What happened?
In 2016, the European Commission’s competition chief, Margrethe Vestager, accused Ireland of granting Apple illegal tax benefits, unfairly diverting investment from other countries.
Both Apple and Ireland, whose low tax rates have helped attract big tech companies to base their headquarters in Europe, have challenged the EU ruling.
However, the European Court of Justice sided with Vestager, finding that the Cupertino giant had unfairly benefited from unfair Irish tax rules and that the company must now pay Ireland €13 billion in back payments.
Original article published on Money.it Italy 2024-09-10 12:56:00. Original title: La rivincita dell’Ue su Apple e Google, multate per miliardi di euro
