Apple, Google Defeats to Fuel EU’s Crackdown on Big Tech

It was a dark day for Apple Inc. and Google as they lost two of the biggest competition cases in European Union history.

Apple suffered a defeat over an EU-ordered €13 billion ($14.4 billion) Irish tax bill and Google faltered over its challenge of a €2.4 billion fine for abusing its search market power.

But as the EU’s antitrust commissioner prepares to hand over the reins after a decade-long crusade against Silicon Valley’s excesses, vindication by the bloc’s highest court could signal a raft of further cases.

“I am afraid we’re only at the beginning,” Margrethe Vestager told reporters in ...