Google, Apple lose multibillion dollar court fights with European Union

These rulings mark a significant victory for the European Union (EU) in its efforts to regulate Big Tech, according to reports.

The EU’s Court of Justice in Luxembourg backed a landmark 2016 decision that Ireland had violated state aid laws by granting Apple an unfair tax advantage.

Additionally, in another victory for the EU’s antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager,
the same court ruled that Google had illegally used its search engine dominance to unfairly promote its own product listings.

Margrethe Vestager, who is just weeks away from departing the Brussels-based European Commission after two terms, made Apple and Alphabet Inc.’s Google top targets after taking up her role in 2014, reports Bloomberg.

The Apple decision represents the most significant achievement in Vestager's decade-long effort for tax fairness, which has also included scrutiny of companies like Amazon.com Inc. and Fiat, a unit of Stellantis NV.

Vestager has consistently argued that providing selective tax benefits to large corporations constitutes illegal state aid, which is prohibited under EU law.

Apple CEO Tim Cook previously dismissed the 2016 tax order as “total political crap,” while Google was fined in 2017 for using its search engine dominance to unfairly boost its own product listings.

Vestager had directed Ireland to recover the €13 billion, which has been held in escrow pending final rulings.

Apple expressed disappointment with the decision, noting that a previous court had annulled the case.

As of early Tuesday, Apple shares fell 1.3 percent to $218 in premarket trading.

Similarly, Google’s spokesperson expressed disappointment with the court's judgment and highlighted that a 2017 proposal to address the EU’s concerns led to increased visibility for other shopping services.

The EU’s actions against Google have prompted global scrutiny, extending beyond search dominance to a series of fines totaling over €8 billion.

The EU’s competition regulators hope that the recently implemented Digital Markets Act will address these issues comprehensively.

This regulation includes provisions that prevent Big Tech from prioritizing their own services over those of competitors, a measure influenced by the EU’s prolonged conflict with Google’s search dominance.