A top E.U. court imposed a €2.4 billion (US$2.65 billion) fine on Google and ruled Apple must repay €13 billion (US$14.3 billion) in back taxes.
What's new: The Court of Justice of the European Union struck down appeals in the two landmark cases on Tuesday, giving the bloc a big win in its efforts to regulate the U.S. technology giants.
What's next: The closely watched cases will encourage the European commissioner for competition's efforts to fine the Silicon Valley-based major technology companies for abuses of competition law. Google will have to pay the E.U. antitrust fine and Apple will have to repay the amount of tax benefits it received illegally in Ireland.
What's important: The rulings provide some relief for E.U. officials a day after a major E.U. report criticized the bloc's technology sector, saying it is "hugely reliant on imports of digital technology" and advised that "Europe should aim to match the U.S. in terms of innovation."
Who's involved: The court confirmed a 2016 European Commission decision that Ireland must recoup the back taxes from Apple and dismissed an appeal lodged by Google seeking to overturn the commission's 2017 decision to fine the company for abusing its dominance by favoring its own comparison shopping service.
What's happening now: Google and Apple already are establishing leads in artificial intelligence through smartphones, chatbots and embedded features.
