Social Europe

  • EU Forward Project
  • YouTube
  • Podcast
  • Books
  • Newsletter
  • Membership

How Big Tech money skews the European playing-field

Margarida Silva and Max Bank 1st September 2021

Record spending by technology companies lobbying the EU represents a democratic problem.

Big Tech lobbying,Digital Services Act,Digital Marketing Act
Source: EU Transparency Register

The enormous expansion of the digital industry is reflected by its spending to influence European Union policy-making. It now spends nearly €100 million a year on lobbying, a sum which dwarfs all other such spending by the private sector. It seeks to translate its huge economical power into more political clout, while European politicians have vowed to regulate the dominance of big digital platforms.

For the first time research by Corporate Europe Observatory (CEO) and LobbyControl not only shows that Big Tech has spent unprecedented sums to lobby EU institutions but also maps the ‘lobby network’ of the industry and how it functions. The study provides a detailed analysis of the lobbying power of technology companies at EU level.

Handful of firms

The research displays the biggest players, their networks and countries of origin, and uncovers their lobby budgets and access to EU decisions. It also unveils how this lobbying power plays out in practice, in the context of EU policy debates on the digital-services legislative package.

No fewer than 612 companies, groups and business associations are lobbying actively to influence the EU’s digital-economy policies and spend at least €97 million annually doing so. But tech lobbying is dominated by a handful of firms. Just ten are responsible for almost a third (€32 million) of the associated expenditure: Vodafone, Qualcomm, Intel, IBM, Amazon, Huawei, Apple, Microsoft, Facebook and Google. A cross-industry comparison shows these top ten companies have more lobbying power than their counterparts in pharmaceuticals, chemicals, cars or finance.

At least one fifth of the companies lobbying the EU on digital policy are US-based; less than 1 per cent have head offices in China or Hong Kong. Chinese firms have so far not invested in EU lobbying as heavily as their US counterparts. The top ten firms are also collectively organised into business and trade associations, which are themselves important lobby actors. These associations have a lobbying budget which far surpasses that of the 75 per cent of smaller companies in the digital industry.

Toothless measures

In the past Big Tech generally opposed regulation. Now, as new rules become inevitable, it is trying to reset the narrative, ostensibly supporting them—but only toothless measures, carefully shaped by the industry. It then combines this approach with attempts to reframe regulation as a threat, not to its own profits but to small and medium enterprises and consumers.

This is then matched by stoking geopolitical fears—warning that regulation will cause Europe to fall behind the United States and, above all, China. Underlying this narrative is still the belief that regulation stifles innovation.  

Big Tech’s lobbying also relies on funding a wide network of third parties, including think-tanks, SME and start-up associations and legal and economic consultancies, to push through its messages. These funding links are often not disclosed, obfuscating potential biases and conflicts of interest.

Worrying and unhealthy

Our findings show that lobbying, especially by the US giants, has one goal—to push back against any strict rules which could affect Big Tech’s business model and profit margins. From a democratic perspective, these immense lobby budgets are deeply worrying and unhealthy.

Efforts to regulate the digital economy have the potential to deliver a better internet—one that serves people, small businesses and communities. It is crucial that independent voices and citizens get involved in these policy discussions, to ensure corporate lobbyists don’t shape the future of technology.

Political processes are under way in the EU with a view to tightening rules for digital platforms. With the Digital Markets Act (DMA) and the Digital Services Act (DSA), the European Commission wants to limit the power of Google, Amazon and other big players. The digital industry is up in arms about this, especially the DMA.The companies’ concentrated lobbying power threatens to water these proposals down.

Armada of advocates

Though we do see a commitment by EU policy-makers to making these regulations meaningful, they are hearing almost only the arguments of Big Tech with its armada of advocates. Civil society and independent academics with enough knowledge to follow the issue are completely outnumbered and simply do not have the resources of Silicon Valley. 

Big Tech’s huge lobbying budgets have a significant impact and secure privileged access: of 271 external meetings involving high-level commission officials since November 2019 around the digital-services package, 75 per cent were with industry lobbyists—just 19 per cent with non-governmental organisations. Google and Facebook led the pack.

In past years, lobbying by Big Tech has affected several EU policy discussions, including those on the General Data Protection Regulation, the ePrivacy Directive, the Copyright Directive and the proposal for an Artificial Intelligence Act. Amazon even bragged that it had managed to weaken the position of the European Parliament on the ePrivacy Directive.

Sowing doubt

Tommaso Valletti, former chief economist in the competition directorate of the commission and professor of economics at Imperial College, London, pointed out at the launch of our study that Big Tech uses the same tactics of sowing doubt invented by the tobacco industry and copied by many others—such as Big Oil, seeking to avoid stringent climate policies. Valletti also spoke about the lack of transparency on the part of those academics, consultants and lawyers who talk at webinars, workshops and cocktail parties about the digital economy but ‘forget’ to disclose they are being paid by Big Tech.

A recent investigation by New Statesman found that, in just six years, Google, Facebook, Amazon and Microsoft had spent tens of milions of euro financing leading EU academic institutes. The firms were financing research with potential impact on their business models, from privacy and data protection to competition. Disclosure though was inconsistent.

EU institutions must respond by strengthening lobby and ethics regulation. Its member states must stop acting opaquely and finally ensure they provide democratic accountability about processes and decisions. But policy-makers also need to be proactive and ensure they reach out to civil society, academia, affected communities and small businesses. This is crucial to counterbalance the dominance of Big Tech lobbyists and to save the democratic process.

Business model

The academic and Big Tech critic Shoshana Zuboff has argued in her book The Age of Surveillance Capitalism that lobbying—alongside establishing relationships with elected politicians, a steady revolving door and a campaign for cultural and academic influence—has allowed a business model built on violating privacy and unfairly dominating the market to flourish without being challenged.

Our report confirms her findings. That should worry every European—and move us all to be engaged in the policy battle coming to a climax in the months ahead.

Margarida Silva
Margarida Silva

Margarida Silva is a researcher at the Centre for Research on Multinational Corporations (SOMO). There she investigates the economic and political power of Big Tech and its impacts.

Max Bank
Max Bank

Max Bank is a researcher and campaigner at LobbyControl, a non-profit association which advocates for transparency and democratic control.

Harvard University Press Advertisement

Social Europe Ad - Promoting European social policies

We need your help.

Support Social Europe for less than €5 per month and help keep our content freely accessible to everyone. Your support empowers independent publishing and drives the conversations that matter. Thank you very much!

Social Europe Membership

Click here to become a member

Most Recent Articles

u421983467298feb62884 0 The Weak Strongman: How Trump’s Presidency Emboldens America’s EnemiesTimothy Snyder
u4201 af20 c4807b0e1724 3 Ballots or Bans: How Should Democracies Respond to Extremists?Katharina Pistor
u421983c824 240f 477c bc69 697bf625cb93 1 Mind the Gap: Can Europe Afford Its Green and Digital Future?Viktor Skyrman
u421983467b5 5df0 44d2 96fc ba344a10b546 0 Finland’s Austerity Gamble: Tax Cuts for the Rich, Pain for the PoorJussi Systä
u421983467 3f8a 4cbb 9da1 1db7f099aad7 0 The Enduring Appeal of the Hybrid WorkplaceJorge Cabrita

Most Popular Articles

startupsgovernment e1744799195663 Governments Are Not StartupsMariana Mazzucato
u421986cbef 2549 4e0c b6c4 b5bb01362b52 0 American SuicideJoschka Fischer
u42198346769d6584 1580 41fe 8c7d 3b9398aa5ec5 1 Why Trump Keeps Winning: The Truth No One AdmitsBo Rothstein
u421983467 a350a084 b098 4970 9834 739dc11b73a5 1 America Is About to Become the Next BrexitJ Bradford DeLong
u4219834676ba1b3a2 b4e1 4c79 960b 6770c60533fa 1 The End of the ‘West’ and Europe’s FutureGuillaume Duval
u421983462e c2ec 4dd2 90a4 b9cfb6856465 1 The Transatlantic Alliance Is Dying—What Comes Next for Europe?Frank Hoffer
u421983467 2a24 4c75 9482 03c99ea44770 3 Trump’s Trade War Tears North America Apart – Could Canada and Mexico Turn to Europe?Malcolm Fairbrother
u4219834676e2a479 85e9 435a bf3f 59c90bfe6225 3 Why Good Business Leaders Tune Out the Trump Noise and Stay FocusedStefan Stern
u42198346 4ba7 b898 27a9d72779f7 1 Confronting the Pandemic’s Toxic Political LegacyJan-Werner Müller
u4219834676574c9 df78 4d38 939b 929d7aea0c20 2 The End of Progess? The Dire Consequences of Trump’s ReturnJoseph Stiglitz

S&D Group in the European Parliament advertisement

Cohesion Policy

S&D Position Paper on Cohesion Policy post-2027: a resilient future for European territorial equity”,

Cohesion Policy aims to promote harmonious development and reduce economic, social and territorial disparities between the regions of the Union, and the backwardness of the least favoured regions with a particular focus on rural areas, areas affected by industrial transition and regions suffering from severe and permanent natural or demographic handicaps, such as outermost regions, regions with very low population density, islands, cross-border and mountain regions.

READ THE FULL POSITION PAPER HERE

ETUI advertisement

HESA Magazine Cover

What kind of impact is artificial intelligence (AI) having, or likely to have, on the way we work and the conditions we work under? Discover the latest issue of HesaMag, the ETUI’s health and safety magazine, which considers this question from many angles.

DOWNLOAD HERE

Eurofound advertisement

Ageing workforce
How are minimum wage levels changing in Europe?

In a new Eurofound Talks podcast episode, host Mary McCaughey speaks with Eurofound expert Carlos Vacas Soriano about recent changes to minimum wages in Europe and their implications.

Listeners can delve into the intricacies of Europe's minimum wage dynamics and the driving factors behind these shifts. The conversation also highlights the broader effects of minimum wage changes on income inequality and gender equality.

Listen to the episode for free. Also make sure to subscribe to Eurofound Talks so you don’t miss an episode!

LISTEN NOW

Foundation for European Progressive Studies Advertisement

Spring Issues

The Spring issue of The Progressive Post is out!


Since President Trump’s inauguration, the US – hitherto the cornerstone of Western security – is destabilising the world order it helped to build. The US security umbrella is apparently closing on Europe, Ukraine finds itself less and less protected, and the traditional defender of free trade is now shutting the door to foreign goods, sending stock markets on a rollercoaster. How will the European Union respond to this dramatic landscape change? .


Among this issue’s highlights, we discuss European defence strategies, assess how the US president's recent announcements will impact international trade and explore the risks  and opportunities that algorithms pose for workers.


READ THE MAGAZINE

Hans Böckler Stiftung Advertisement

WSI Report

WSI Minimum Wage Report 2025

The trend towards significant nominal minimum wage increases is continuing this year. In view of falling inflation rates, this translates into a sizeable increase in purchasing power for minimum wage earners in most European countries. The background to this is the implementation of the European Minimum Wage Directive, which has led to a reorientation of minimum wage policy in many countries and is thus boosting the dynamics of minimum wages. Most EU countries are now following the reference values for adequate minimum wages enshrined in the directive, which are 60% of the median wage or 50 % of the average wage. However, for Germany, a structural increase is still necessary to make progress towards an adequate minimum wage.

DOWNLOAD HERE

Social Europe

Our Mission

Team

Article Submission

Advertisements

Membership

Social Europe Archives

Themes Archive

Politics Archive

Economy Archive

Society Archive

Ecology Archive

Miscellaneous

RSS Feed

Legal Disclosure

Privacy Policy

Copyright

Social Europe ISSN 2628-7641