More than a third of total lobbying expenditure in the EU comes from the top ten technology companies
The technology sector is the sector that invests the most in lobbying in Brussels. Companies in this industry are spending 113 million euros this year to boost their power of influence to achieve the approval of measures favourable to their interests. This is 16.5% more than two years ago, when it spent 97 million, according to a report by LobbyControl and Corporate Europe Observatory based on data collected from 651 companies and associations.
The top ten technology companies, including Meta, Google, Apple, Microsoft and Amazon, spend more than a third of total lobbying expenditure, with a budget of 40 million euros. 40 million, a figure that allows them to consolidate their leadership, ahead of the automotive and financial sectors.
The total investment ranking is headed by Meta, with 8 million euros (2.2 million more than in 2021); followed by Apple, with 7 million (double that of two years ago); the pharmaceutical company Bayer, with 6 million; Google and Shell with 5.5 million and Microsoft, with 5 million. This year, Telefónica, the only Spanish company, entered the top 10 with 2 million and Deutsche Telekom with the same figure.
Meta is also the technology company with the most full-time lobbyists in the European Union, with an average of 17 employees, followed by Intel with 10, Google with 9, Amazon with 8 and IBM with 7. Google, Amazon and Apple have increased by an average of three lobbyists since 2021.
On the other hand, US technology companies dominate investment in lobbying in Brussels, accounting for 20% of the total. European companies spend an average of 10% each and Chinese companies, such as Alibaba or TikTok, only 1% of the total.
Telefónica is the only Spanish company in the top 10 biggest lobby investors in the EU, with 2 million euros.
Experts point out that this upturn in investment by technology companies in lobbying groups has to do with the approval of the Digital Services Act (DSA) and the Digital Markets Act (DMA), which has garnered more criticism than ovations in the sector by allowing greater restrictions on content or the targeting of advertising.
Moreover, the platforms agree that in recent years there has also been an increase in lawsuits accusing them of having a predominant position in the market, in the same way that the debate on the regulation of Artificial Intelligence has spread.
