Google, Microsoft Spend Heavily, Lobby on EU Digital Issues This Year
Microsoft and Google are among the top 50 companies in EU lobbying spending this year, although the tech/communications sector overall dropped from first place in 2012 to second in 2016, LobbyFacts.eu said. Google placed 40th, spending 600,000-700,000 euros (about $640,000-$750,000) in 2012, but it's now in sixth place, upping the spending it reported on the EU transparency register to near that of Microsoft (4.25 million to 4.5 million euros), far ahead of other tech and telecom companies. The two American giants are also in the top 10 lobbying organizations with the most high-level meetings with the European Commission, EU Integrity Watch said. Efforts continue to make the lobby transparency register mandatory.
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The register shows that, among corporate lobbyists approaching the EC on digital economy matters, Amazon Europe reported spending 1.5 million to 1.75 million euros. DigitalEurope, the European Telecommunications Network Operators' Association, GSMA Europe and the European Broadcasting Union said they spent 1 million to 1.25 million euros. Facebook Ireland and Cable Europe reported lobbying funding of 700,000-799,999 euros, the European Competitive Telecommunications Association 650,000 euros. Uber reported 400,000-499,999 euros, and AT&T and the Computer & Communications Industry Association said they had lobbying expenditures of 300,000-399,999 euros. The European Internet Services Providers Association reported lobbying costs of less than 9,999 euros. Twitter said its figure was 25,000-49,999 euros.
Among civil society groups, the European Consumers' Organisation (BEUC) reported spending 1.75 million to 2 million euros (although it's unclear how much of this was spent specifically on digital rights issues). European Digital Rights said it spent 111,120 euros.
Tech sector lobbying dropping from 2012 to this year was a bit surprising, said Corporate Europe Observatory Lobbycracy Campaigner Vicky Cann. Possible explanations could be the large increase in bank lobbying over the period and that several telecom companies dropped out of the top 50 lobbyists list, she said. Cann said she doesn't think the list "reflects a decline in interest in EU lobbying by big tech firms."
Lobbying on digital issues is likely to have increased given the growing importance of the digital world for industry and the EC, emailed Hogan Lovells (Brussels) antitrust and competition attorney Falk Schoening. He noted the digital single market strategy is probably the most important issues the EC is following: "Hottest issues for telecoms are the tough stance of DG COMP [the EC competition directorate] on consolidation, 5G rollout and the Internet of Things."
Between January 2015 and November 2016, Google met 23 times with EC officials on digital economy issues, EU Integrity Watch said. Microsoft held 19 such meetings between December 2014 and October 2016. Google was second and Microsoft 10th in the website's list of lobby organizations meeting frequently with the EC, which also included DigitalEurope and BEUC.
The list includes four telecom companies -- Deutsche Telekom, Orange, Telefonica and Vodafone -- emailed Daniel Freund, Transparency International head of advocacy, EU Integrity. "All of these have had at least 45 meetings at the highest level of the Commission in the last 2 years -- 1 every other work week." The issues they lobby on, the digital economy and the digital single market, are two of the three subject areas with the most lobbying meetings by the 28 European commissioners, he said. "Those portfolios also have a particularly strong corporate bias (over 80% of meetings with companies and industry associations)."
The commissioners responsible for digital economy and single market issues are Günther Oettinger and Andrus Ansip. The top 10 organizations they met with don't include a single nongovernmental organization, Freund told us. Oettinger has met with 27 NGOs out of 336 meetings overall, said Freund.
The EC in September proposed a mandatory transparency register for all EU bodies. Under the "interinstitutional agreement," the EC, European Parliament and Council (government representatives) would be subject to the same minimum standards for the first time, the EC said. Lobbyists would be able to meet with decision-makers only after signing up to the register, it said. The proposal also envisions stronger monitoring and enforcement of the code of conduct for lobbyists, it said. Transparency International EU called the changes "timid" and "cosmetic," and accused the Parliament and Council of resisting reform.
The European Parliament named its negotiating team and talks are expected to begin in the new year, said Cann. Parliament strongly backs the EC plan for a mandatory register, said Schoening. "The big news compared to the previous register is not only that it's mandatory, but also that it covers the Council." Given the growing importance of some large EU countries, "this is very relevant as lobbying increasingly targets them," he wrote.