Name: Big Tech spending on Brussels lobbying hits record high
Uploaded: 2025-10-29T18:13:56.412Z
Duration: 2 min 5 s
Description: The increase comes as pressure on the European Commission from the U.S. administration to change its online platform and AI rules has gone up as well.

The increase comes as pressure on the European Commission from the U.S. administration to change its online platform and AI rules has gone up as well.

Brussels

A recent report by Corporate Europe Observatory and Lobby Control shows that big tech companies are spending a record €151 million annually on lobbying in Brussels, marking a more than 50% increase over four years. The top 10 tech firms alone spent nearly €50 million, surpassing the combined lobbying expenditure of the top 10 pharmaceutical, finance, and car companies.

Meta, Microsoft, and Apple are among the leading spenders, with AI regulation being the most lobbied issue. The report also notes frequent meetings between tech representatives and high-level European Commission staff, alongside increased pressure from the US administration to influence EU digital policy. This has led to debates over key digital safeguards and the future of the EU's AI Act.

Big Tech spending on Brussels lobbying hits record high

Big tech spending on Brussels lobbying hits record high, according to a report published by NGOs Corporate Europe Observatory and Lobby Control. The tech industry is spending some 151 million annually on lobbying in Brussels, a rise of more than 50% when compared to four years ago. The tech industry is spending more on lobbying than any other industry. The top 10 tech companies spent almost 50 million euros this year, compared to 43 million euros for the top 10 pharma, finance and car companies combined. Top spenders include Meta at 10 million euros and Microsoft and Apple at 7 million euros each. The EU is talking about deregulation, watering down essential rules, protecting data privacy, protecting against unfair AI systems. So big tech is set to profit from that moment by increasing its spending and trying to water down those rules as much as possible. In the first half of 2025, big tech has met with high-level European Commission staff almost 150 times, which is more than one meeting for every working day, the report says. AI was the most lobbied issue. Other topics discussed include data centres, the cloud, the Digital Services Act, as well as the Digital Markets Act. This increasing lobbying effort comes as pressure on the European Commission from the US administration to change its online platform and AI rules has gone up as well. We see that crucial safeguards, digital safeguards, are under threat from two sides. On the one hand, we have this deregulation agenda from the European Commission, but on the other hand, big tech has been able to make a deal with the Trump administration to aggressively push back against the EU's digital legislation. The pressure led to a debate about pausing the AI Act, a set of rules that aim to regulate AI systems according to the risks they pose to society.

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