Google, Facebook And Microsoft, The Three Tech Giants Who Are The "Lobby Kings" In The European Union

Political and legal lobbies have become critical to the business continuity of US technology companies in the European Union. (photo: unsplash)

JAKARTA - Alphabet Inc's Google unit, Facebook Inc and Microsoft Corp are Europe's three biggest lobby spenders in the battle against new laws aimed at limiting the power of the US tech giant. This is reported by a study released on Tuesday, August 31.

The study by campaign group Corporate Europe Observatory and Lobby Control warned that such efforts should serve as a wake-up call for policymakers in the European Union to further improve draft legislation and lobbying rules.

The technology sector even beat the pharmaceutical, fossil fuel, finance and chemical sectors, which used to dominate the lobbying arena.

“The increasing firepower of major tech lobbies and the digital industry as a whole reflects the sector's large and growing role in society,” the study said.

"It is remarkable and should be of concern that platforms can use this weapon to ensure their voices are heard - opposing and critical voices - in the debate about how to establish new rules for digital platforms," the report added.

The study found that 612 companies, groups and associations spend more than 97 million euros annually on lobbying for EU digital economy policies. The data was submitted by the company to the EU Transparency Register until mid-June this year.

Google spends 5.75 million euros, followed by Facebook at 5.5 million euros, Microsoft at 5.25 million, Apple at 3.5 million, Huawei Technologies Co Ltd at 3 million euros and Amazon.com Inc in sixth place with 2.75 million euros.

Google and Huawei replied that they submitted their lobbying data to the EU transparency register.

"We have clear policies in place to protect the independence of the people and organizations we sponsor, including the requirement to disclose funding," Google said in an email to Reuters.

Microsoft said: "The European Union has been and remains an important stakeholder for Microsoft. We seek to be a constructive and transparent partner to European policymakers."

Facebook, Apple and Amazon did not immediately comment on the matter.

The technology lobby focuses on two main pieces of legislation. First, the Digital Markets Act lists the do's and don'ts for tech giants. Second, the Digital Services Act which requires companies to do more to monitor content on their platforms.

The study warns about industry access to the European Commission, with lobbyists involved in three-quarters of the commission's 270 meetings of officials on the two bills.

It also cites the role played by trade and business associations, think tanks and even political parties in promoting the tech industry narrative.