Europe recently handed out substantial financial penalties to Apple and Google.
The European Court of Justice affirmed a hefty €2.4 billion ($2.6 billion) antitrustpenalty against Google, in a separate judgment, dealing a strong blow to two of the globe's mightiest tech companies.
The ECJ upheld an original 2016 decision by the European Commission in the case against Apple (AAPL), concluding that Ireland had provided Apple with unlawful state aid, which required recovery. The EU's executive body calculated that Ireland had bestowed "unfair tax advantages" amounting to €13 billion on Apple.
In a separate turn of events, the court brushed aside an appeal filed by Google and its parent firm Alphabet (GOOGL) against the €2.4 billion fine imposed by the European Commission in 2017. The Commission had penalized Google for using its dominant position in online search to prioritize its own comparison shopping service over competitors'.
CNN reached out to Apple and Google for their perspectives.
This story is still evolving and will be updated.
Google and Alphabet continue to operate in the challenging business environment of tech regulation, attempting to overturn the €2.4 billion fine imposed for prioritizing its own services over competitors. Despite this setback, their vast tech businesses continue to dominate their respective markets.
