Apple argues that $14.4B EU tax order 'defies reality'
Apple has begun its appeal against the European Union's ruling that required it to pay Ireland $14.4 billion in back taxes, saying the EU order was flawed.
Ireland
William Gallagher
Apple's appeal against $14.4B EU & Ireland tax payment is this week
Apple is due to head to the European Union General Court over its tax affairs this week, with the iPhone maker set to commence arguments on Tuesday to reverse a ruling by the European Commission that caused it to pay Ireland 13 billion euros ($14.4 billion) in back taxes.
Malcolm Owen
Brief Thoughts: Questionable RF lawsuit, Apple TV+ vs. Disney+, Siri listening & more
Every week has dozens of things going on at any given time, too many to talk about in real-time. Here's what we think about this week's radio frequency revelations and lawsuits, Disney rolling heavy at the D23 expo in regards to Disney+, the workers responsible for listening to Siri recordings, an inadvertent iOS 12 jailbreak restoration, and Google's Android rebranding.
Mike Wuerthele and Malcolm Owen
Laid off Apple contractors listened to 1,000 Siri recordings per shift
Workers employed in Ireland to monitor and grade Siri recordings for Apple have now lost their jobs, as listening to Siri recordings stops.
Apple & Ireland head to court to battle $14.4B EU back tax on Sept. 17
The battle between Apple and the European Commission over the iPhone maker's tax affairs with Ireland will be heading to court in September, with the legal challenge set to determine whether Apple will be paid back any of its 13 billion ($14.4 billion) back tax payment.
Google Assistant voice recordings reviewed by humans include private conversations
Some voice snippets uploaded by Google Assistant are being reviewed by human contractors, as with Amazon Alexa, and can potentially include sensitive conversations, reports say.
Roger Fingas
Apple's Irish tax escrow investments lost 16M euro in 2018
Ireland's investment of escrowed back taxes paid by Apple on the orders of the European Commission are not performing as well as they could be, with a report claiming the fund declined in value by 16 million euros last year.
Ireland invests Apple's collected back taxes in low-risk bonds
As a way of keeping up value pending appeals, the Irish government has reportedly invested the back taxes the European Commission ordered it to collect from Apple into low-risk securities.
Apple's iCloud and iTunes targeted in patent infringement suit
An Irish business, Data Scape Limited, has launched a Texas lawsuit against Apple accusing it of violating a data sync patent by way of iCloud, iTunes and the devices those services run on.
Stephen Silver
