The war continues between GAFAM and the European Parliament, which has just launched LobbyLeaks, an online service to denounce any practice aimed at influencing European digital policy. Tech giants better watch out!
Not a month goes by without one of the GAFAMs – the digital giants Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon and Microsoft – receiving a heavy fine from the European Union. Indeed, disputes with it have multiplied in recent years. Anti-competitive practices, taxation, protection of personal data – the practices of companies often go against the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) – , disinformation and hate online… The grounds for litigation are legion! To France-wide, the National Commission for Computing and Liberties (CNIL) recently fined Microsoft 60 million euros for its mismanagement of cookies on its Bing search engine and pinned Apple for l use of ad trackers without the explicit consent of iPhone users – which, moreover, contradicts its privacy policy. Some European elected officials and NGOs have decided to move up a gear and have created LobbyLeaks, a toll-free number for anyone with information on the dubious – if not illegal – practices of multinationals, in particular attempts at indirect influence on the world. European Union technology policy agenda.
LobbyLeaks: a service to denounce digital lobbying
As reported The Guardian, it is the Dutch MEP Paul Tang who is at the origin of the project. The goal: to ensure greater transparency regarding the lobbying practices of large tech companies at European level. To do this, he relies on LobbyLeaks to collect data on lobbying efforts that could target EU digital policy-making, such as the use of “industry associations” or third-party consultancies without clear disclosures, or to discreetly funded university studies in order to write research favorable to certain projects – projects which obviously prove to be very profitable for the GAFAM.
Paul Tang and his associates tackle the practice of astroturfing directly. This consists, for a company or a group with a particular interest, in giving the illusion of a popular support or scientific legitimacy to support its interests, usually for publicity or political purposes. Of course, the sponsors of the message or organization are concealed in order to make it appear that it comes from or is supported by “ordinary” citizens and independent institutions. “As politicians, it is our duty to balance the interests of industry, civil society and society at large. Manipulation by shady pressure groups is a threat not only to the shaping of laws, but also for our democracy as a whole”explains Paul Tang.
Although it is a “freephone number”, LobbyLeaks actually takes the form of a website accessible at LobbyLeaks.eu. It is primarily intended for elected officials and employees of the European Parliament, who can submit actions and content that they consider suspicious, such as unusual e-mails sent to them or targeted advertisements that defend the points of view of GAFAM. . Of course, everything is encrypted. Then, the two NGOs Corporate Europe Observatory (CEO) and LobbyControl, which take care of the site, will take care of investigating the reports. This announces future fines!