Wednesday

27th Sep 2023

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

Become an expert on Europe

Get 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

Orbán's 'revenge law' is an Orwellian crackdown on education

On Tuesday, the Hungarian parliament passed a troubling piece of legislation known by its critics as the 'revenge law', which aims to punish and intimidate teachers who dare to defy Viktor Orbán's regime. This law is a brutally oppressive tool.

Latest News

  1. Germany tightens police checks on Czech and Polish border
  2. EU Ombudsman warns of 'new normal' of crisis decision-making
  3. How do you make embarrassing EU documents 'disappear'?
  4. Resurgent Fico hopes for Slovak comeback at Saturday's election
  5. EU and US urge Azerbijan to allow aid access to Armenians
  6. EU warns of Russian 'mass manipulation' as elections loom
  7. Blocking minority of EU states risks derailing asylum overhaul
  8. Will Poles vote for the end of democracy?

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. International Medical Devices Regulators Forum (IMDRF)Join regulators, industry & healthcare experts at the 24th IMDRF session, September 25-26, Berlin. Register by 20 Sept to join in person or online.
  2. UNOPSUNOPS begins works under EU-funded project to repair schools in Ukraine
  3. Georgia Ministry of Foreign AffairsGeorgia effectively prevents sanctions evasion against Russia – confirm EU, UK, USA
  4. International Medical Devices Regulators Forum (IMDRF)Join regulators & industry experts at the 24th IMDRF session- Berlin September 25-26. Register early for discounted hotel rates
  5. Nordic Council of MinistersGlobal interest in the new Nordic Nutrition Recommendations – here are the speakers for the launch
  6. Nordic Council of Ministers20 June: Launch of the new Nordic Nutrition Recommendations

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. International Sustainable Finance CentreJoin CEE Sustainable Finance Summit, 15 – 19 May 2023, high-level event for finance & business
  2. ICLEISeven actionable measures to make food procurement in Europe more sustainable
  3. World BankWorld Bank Report Highlights Role of Human Development for a Successful Green Transition in Europe
  4. Nordic Council of MinistersNordic summit to step up the fight against food loss and waste
  5. Nordic Council of MinistersThink-tank: Strengthen co-operation around tech giants’ influence in the Nordics
  6. EFBWWEFBWW calls for the EC to stop exploitation in subcontracting chains

Join EUobserver

Support quality EU news

Join us