Thursday

28th Mar 2024

Big tech's EU lobby spending revealed, as key acts loom

  • Facebooks European HQ in Dublin. The Digital Markets Act and the Digital Services Act are under intense lobbying
Listen to article

The digital industry now has more lobbying power than pharmaceutical, fossil fuels, financial, or chemical sectors, spending annually over €97m to influence EU decision-making, a new report found on Tuesday (31 August).

The research by NGOs Corporate Europe Observatory and LobbyControl revealed an unbalanced playing field, where just a few firms dominate lobbying efforts in EU digital economy policies.

Read and decide

Join EUobserver today

Get the EU news that really matters

Instant access to all articles — and 20 years of archives. 14-day free trial.

... or subscribe as a group

Only 10 companies are responsible for almost a third of the total tech lobby expenditure — with Google, Facebook, and Microsoft as top spenders, with a budget of over €5m each.

However, a total of 612 companies, groups, and business associations in the digital sector were identified as lobbying actors in Brussels — with most of the big players coming from the US.

The report notes that tech companies are not just lobbying policy-makers individually, since they also tend to be part of businesses and trade associations and a wider network of "non-transparent collaborations" with think tanks, consultancies, and academia, all of which are also trying to influence the public debate.

Currently, the Digital Markets Act (DMA) and the Digital Services Act (DSA) are under intense lobbying, as the two landmark pieces of legation with the potential to shape online platforms' business models.

The DSA is aimed at making digital companies accountable for the illegal and harmful content displayed on their platforms, while the DMA attempt to establish for the first time a list of 'dos' and 'don'ts' for the biggest online platforms, so-called gatekeepers.

However, the report also points out how lobbyists behind digital industries keep advocating for a regulation based on a case-by-case approach, using narratives such as "regulation stifles innovation" or arguing that too much regulation will cause Europe to fall behind the US and China.

For example, Facebook's global head of corporate communications Nick Clegg (a former UK deputy prime minister) said in a text published last May that the "Chinese model presents a risk to the open internet as we know it", warning that "policymakers need to avoid two unintended consequences: unnecessarily stifling European innovation, and inadvertently accelerating the splintering of the global internet".

Under the von der Leyen Commission, EU high-level officials such as commissioners, directorates-general or head of cabinets held 270 meetings on these two proposals since November 2019.

The majority of these meetings were with industry lobbyists (75 percent), compared to NGOs (19 percent) and other groups (six percent).

But the lobbying battle has now moved to the European Parliament and Council, where discussions to find a common position are still ongoing.

'Independent voices' required

Meanwhile, civil society and academia are calling on EU institutions to address not only the massive economic power concentration of big tech but also their capacity to influence EU decision-making.

"The economic and political power of the digital giants is hefty, and they are not going to remain passive in the face of possible new rules that affect the way they conduct their businesses. That's why the EU institutions urgently need to change the way they handle this lobbying," said Tommaso Valleti, former chief economist of the EU Commission competition department and professor of economics at Imperial College London.

Similarly, Margarida Silva, a researcher at Corporate Europe Observatory, said that "it is crucial that independent voices and citizens get involved in these policy discussions, to ensure that corporate lobbyists do not get to shape the future of technology".

For his part, Max Bank, author of the report and researcher from LobbyControl, called especially on EU capitals to "stop acting opaquely, and finally ensure that they provide democratic accountability regarding their processes and decisions".

Stakeholder

Podcast: 'Big Tech' and the threat to democracy

Do tech giants like Google, Apple or Facebook have too much power? Is their growing power a threat to democracy? These topics are highlighted in the latest Nordic Talks podcast, featuring three specialists - among them EU commissioner Margrethe Vestager.

Online giants could face 10% fines under new EU law

The European Commission unveiled on Tuesday a package of proposals that set out legal obligations for digital platforms aimed at tackling illegal content and unfair practices in today's digital environment.

Lobbyists and lawyers start split from Moscow

Some consultancies, such as Brunswick or Kreab, were already refusing Russian clients well before the invasion in late February. Law firm Covington represented the Ukrainian government on a pro-bono basis in its case against Russia at the Hague this week.

Opinion

Potential legal avenues to prosecute Navalny's killers

The UN could launch an independent international investigation into Navalny's killing, akin to investigation I conducted on Jamal Khashoggi's assassination, or on Navalny's Novichok poisoning, in my role as special rapporteur on extrajudicial executions, writes the secretary-general of Amnesty International.

Opinion

I'll be honest — Moldova's judicial system isn't fit for EU

To state a plain truth: at present, Moldova does not have a justice system worthy of a EU member state; it is riven with corruption and lax and inconsistent standards, despite previous attempts at reform, writes Moldova's former justice minister.

Latest News

  1. "Swiftly dial back" interest rates, ECB told
  2. Moscow's terror attack, security and Gaza
  3. Why UK-EU defence and security deal may be difficult
  4. EU unveils plan to create a European cross-border degree
  5. How migrants risk becoming drug addicts along Balkan route
  6. 2024: A Space Odyssey — why the galaxy needs regulating
  7. Syrian mayor in Germany speaks out against AfD
  8. Asian workers pay price for EU ship recycling

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. Nordic Council of MinistersJoin the Nordic Food Systems Takeover at COP28
  2. Nordic Council of MinistersHow women and men are affected differently by climate policy
  3. Nordic Council of MinistersArtist Jessie Kleemann at Nordic pavilion during UN climate summit COP28
  4. Nordic Council of MinistersCOP28: Gathering Nordic and global experts to put food and health on the agenda
  5. Friedrich Naumann FoundationPoems of Liberty – Call for Submission “Human Rights in Inhume War”: 250€ honorary fee for selected poems
  6. World BankWorld Bank report: How to create a future where the rewards of technology benefit all levels of society?

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. Georgia Ministry of Foreign AffairsThis autumn Europalia arts festival is all about GEORGIA!
  2. UNOPSFostering health system resilience in fragile and conflict-affected countries
  3. European Citizen's InitiativeThe European Commission launches the ‘ImagineEU’ competition for secondary school students in the EU.
  4. Nordic Council of MinistersThe Nordic Region is stepping up its efforts to reduce food waste
  5. UNOPSUNOPS begins works under EU-funded project to repair schools in Ukraine
  6. Georgia Ministry of Foreign AffairsGeorgia effectively prevents sanctions evasion against Russia – confirm EU, UK, USA

Join EUobserver

EU news that matters

Join us