The European Supreme Court has just fined Apple and Google billions of dollars.

Both ECJ rulings are final, meaning the companies cannot appeal. The rulings highlight the European Union's tough stance on curbing the power of Big Tech.

Apple CEO Tim Cook and Google CEO Sundar Pichai. Photo: AP, Reuters

In its ruling against Apple, the ECJ upheld a 2016 decision in which the European Commission ordered Apple to pay €13 billion in back taxes to Ireland, arguing that the iPhone maker had its tax burden reduced to as low as 0.005% in 2014.

Apple had appealed the ruling. The EU's General Court, a lower court than the ECJ, had said regulators had failed to meet the legal standard of proving that Apple had an unfair advantage.

But on 10 September, the ECJ's High Court of Justice overturned the Court of First Instance's ruling and sided with the European Commission.

“Today is a huge victory for European citizens and tax justice,” Vestager said in a statement on September 10. “The Commission will continue its work on harmful tax competition and aggressive tax planning.”

Also on September 10, Google lost its fight against a 2.42 billion euro fine imposed by the EU antitrust regulator in 2017, one of three major fines imposed on the company for various anti-competitive practices.

Google has been fined for abusing its dominant position in online search by favouring its services over competitors in more than a dozen European countries.

At the time, Vestager said Google's behavior "denied European users the right to choose their services and the full benefits of innovation" from smaller rivals.

In her statement, Vestager said the lawsuit against Google was "a catalyst for change... It demonstrates that even the most powerful tech companies can be held accountable."

Ngoc Anh (according to CNN, Reuters)

Source: https://www.congluan.vn/apple-va-google-bi-toa-an-chau-au-phat-hang-chuc-ty-usd-vi-doc-quyen-post311743.html