Sector & service specialists

Digital sector lobbying activity has increased substantially since the European Commission launched its flagship digital single market strategy. Since the beginning of Ursula von der Leyen’s tenure as president of the European Commission, tech companies and lobbying groups have had more than 150 meetings with EU officials to discuss the DMA and the DSA, according to POLITICO. Apple, Amazon, Meta, Google and Microsoft all boosted their lobbying spending, according to recent data from the EU Transparency Register.

A key priority for the EU has been to create a digital single market where the free movement of goods, persons, services, capital and data is guaranteed — and where citizens and businesses can seamlessly and fairly access online goods and services, whatever their nationality, and wherever they live. Brussels is home to more than 15 trade associations involved directly with digital services and technology, from Digital Europe to the Business Software Alliance. Although Google and Microsoft are the two biggest corporate affairs spenders in Brussels, in the words of one tech commentator: “There are new actors who have come to Brussels, lots of them which didn’t exist 20 years ago. They’ve gone from being economically insignificant to being economically substantial, so they want to be part of the policymaking process.”

Also as Transparency International recently reported: “For decades, Silicon Valley companies have turned traditional business models on their heads. From streaming movies to turning private cars into taxis, these companies are known for both innovation and shaking-up the markets they operate in. A similar phenomenon is happening in Brussels where Silicon Valley companies.