There are now more full-time tech lobbyists in Brussels than Members of the European Parliament. Major technology corporations — including Meta, Microsoft, Apple, Amazon, and Google — have increased their combined lobbying expenditures in the EU by more than 33% over the past two years. This was reported by the non-profit research and advocacy organizations Corporate Europe Observatory and LobbyControl, based on data from the EU Transparency Register.
Annual spending on lobbying in the European Union rose from €113 million in 2023 to €151 million in 2025, marking a 33.6% increase over two years. A third of all lobbying expenditures (€49 million) comes from just ten companies, seven of which are headquartered in the United States.
The largest increases in spending were recorded by:
• Amazon (+€4.3 million),
• Microsoft and Meta (+€2 million each),
• and the business lobby group DIGITALEUROPE (+€1.25 million), which includes many of the same corporations among its members.
According to a blog post by Corporate Europe Observatory, major IT companies held on average more than one lobbying meeting per day with European Commission officials, totaling 146 meetings in just the first half of 2025.
Supported by the Trump administration, Big Tech firms are actively pressuring the EU to weaken or delay the implementation of key regulations such as the Artificial Intelligence Act (AI Act), the Digital Markets Act (DMA), and the Digital Services Act (DSA). Their efforts are reportedly backed by some European political parties — in particular, the European People’s Party (EPP) held a disproportionately high number of meetings with technology lobbyists.
The number of “lobby actors” — think tanks, associations, companies, and intermediaries promoting tech interests in Brussels — has also grown from 565 to 733 since 2023. This rise is partly due to the emergence of new AI-related companies opening offices in the Belgian capital.
“There are now more full-time lobbyists influencing the EU’s digital policy than there are Members of the European Parliament,” notes Corporate Europe Observatory. The organization adds: “The trend is clear — the tech industry is outspending all other corporate sectors traditionally known for their lobbying influence in the EU. For example, the top 10 digital companies are spending three times more than the top 10 pharmaceutical, financial, and automotive firms, and twice as much as the energy sector.”
In addition to direct lobbying, technology firms spend over €9 million annually on consultancies, PR agencies, and think tanks to amplify their messaging, which has recently become increasingly hostile to regulation.
Amid pressure from both the United States and within the EU, Members of the European Parliament have warned against weakening key legislation to appease tech giants or the U.S. administration. So far, the European Commission has resisted such pressure, continuing investigations and imposing fines on Google, Meta, TikTok, and others. However, the report’s authors caution that deregulation lobbying is entering a new phase.
“Instead of beating the drum for deregulation, the European Commission should protect the public interest from Big Tech influence and strengthen the enforcement of its existing digital rules,” the researchers conclude.
