Italy Investigates Apple, Google, Dropbox over Cloud Storage

This photo taken on August 23, 2018 shows the Google logo on display at the Smart China Expo at Chongqing International Expo Center in southwest China's Chongqing. ((Getty Images)
This photo taken on August 23, 2018 shows the Google logo on display at the Smart China Expo at Chongqing International Expo Center in southwest China's Chongqing. ((Getty Images)
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Italy Investigates Apple, Google, Dropbox over Cloud Storage

This photo taken on August 23, 2018 shows the Google logo on display at the Smart China Expo at Chongqing International Expo Center in southwest China's Chongqing. ((Getty Images)
This photo taken on August 23, 2018 shows the Google logo on display at the Smart China Expo at Chongqing International Expo Center in southwest China's Chongqing. ((Getty Images)

Italy's competition watchdog has launched an investigation into Apple, Google and Dropbox over their cloud storage services.

The competition and market authority said Monday it has opened a total of six investigations into Apple iCloud, Google Drive and Dropbox's online storage service in response to complaints about unfair commercial practices and violations of the country’s consumer rights directive.

In one case, it's also looking into “vexatious clauses” in a contract.

The regulator said it's looking into whether the three companies either failed to, or did not adequately, indicate how users' data would be collected and used for commercial purposes.

It is also examining whether Dropbox failed to provide clear and accessible information on how users could get out of contracts or pursue out of court dispute settlements.

Apple, Google, and Dropbox did not immediately respond to requests for comment.



Nvidia’s Market Value Tops $4 Trillion

Nvidia logo is seen in this illustration created on January 27, 2025. (Reuters)
Nvidia logo is seen in this illustration created on January 27, 2025. (Reuters)
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Nvidia’s Market Value Tops $4 Trillion

Nvidia logo is seen in this illustration created on January 27, 2025. (Reuters)
Nvidia logo is seen in this illustration created on January 27, 2025. (Reuters)

Nvidia's stock market value ended the trading session above $4 trillion for the first time on Thursday, solidifying the chipmaker's position as Wall Street's central player in a race to dominate AI technology.

Shares of Nvidia ended up 0.75% at $164.10, giving it a market value of $4.004 trillion and extending its lead over Apple and Microsoft as it benefits from a surge in demand for artificial-intelligence technologies.

Nvidia's stock market value briefly peaked above $4 trillion on Wednesday before closing at about $3.97 trillion. It is worth more than the combined value of all publicly listed companies in the UK.

Nvidia's high-end processors are at the center of a race between Microsoft, Amazon, Alphabet, Meta Platforms and other Wall Street heavyweights to build AI data centers and dominate the emerging technology.

Nvidia is also exposed to conflict between Washington and Beijing over trade, including restrictions on exports to China of its most powerful chips.

"Trade tensions and tariffs are a risk, as is competition. Greater AI adoption could shift part of the demand toward cheaper alternatives," Swissquote Bank senior analyst Ipek Ozkardeskaya wrote in a client note.

Nvidia achieved a $1 trillion market value for the first time in June 2023 and tripled it in about a year, faster than Apple and Microsoft, the only other US firms with market values above $3 trillion.

Microsoft is the second most valuable US company, with a market capitalization of $3.73 trillion. Its shares dipped 0.4% on Thursday.

Apple's stock has tumbled 15% so far in 2025, leaving its market value at $3.17 trillion, reflecting investor worries that the iPhone maker has been slow to introduce AI into its products and services.

Even after its meteoric rally, Nvidia's stock is valued at about 33 times expected earnings, below its five-year average of 41, according to LSEG.