As the EU finalizes the DMA and the DSA, a report reveals Big Tech companies' last-minute lobbying to limit crackdowns on surveillance advertising and more
A new report has peeled back the curtain on big tech's frenzied lobbying of European Union lawmakers as they finalize a major series of updates to the bloc's digital rulebook. Source: Corporate Europe Observatory .
TechCrunchNatasha Lomas
Context & Ripple Effects
Big Tech’s push came after a longer EU lobbying campaign in which Google logged the most meetings and company CEOs were directly involved, with attention shifting toward antitrust rules. The DMA’s provisional agreement had already set concrete platform obligations, including interoperability, limits on bundling, and a ban on self-preferencing.
EU lawmakers and negotiators face added scrutiny over whether final DMA and DSA language preserves strong limits on surveillance advertising and other platform practices.
Big Tech must prepare for compliance with the agreed platform rules even as it seeks to narrow the scope of the remaining provisions.
Second-order effects
The DMA’s agreed interoperability, bundling, and self-preferencing requirements force affected platforms to reassess product design and service-integration choices, not merely their lobbying strategy.
Continued lobbying makes enforcement and rule interpretation a central arena for the European Union and the largest platforms after legislation is finalized.
Third-order effects
EU platform governance is becoming a sustained contest over implementation: legislation establishes the baseline, while corporate lobbying and regulatory enforcement determine how restrictive it is in practice.
If the pattern persists, Big Tech’s regulatory engagement will remain concentrated around EU rulemaking and enforcement rather than one-off attempts to stop major platform laws.
The trend: The DMA and DSA mark a shift toward durable EU oversight of platform conduct, with lobbying moving from blocking legislation to shaping its final terms and enforcement.
Today's agreement on #DSA is historic. Our new rules will protect users online, ensure freedom of expression and opportunities for businesses. What is illegal offline will effectively be illegal online in the EU. A strong signal for people, business & countries worldwide.
@carnage4life
@carnage4life on x
Tim Cook after getting a notification on his phone about all the changes Apple has to make to the App Store, Messages, FaceTime, Safari, and Siri because the EU passed the Digital Markets Act. https://twitter.com/...
@lilyraynyc
Lily Ray on x
Pretty sure Google saw this coming, but crazy to think it will be actual law. “The law includes measures compelling tech giants to be more transparent about the algorithms they use to recommend content to users.” https://www.cnbc.com/...
@senblumenthal
Richard Blumenthal on x
Americans also need & deserve protections from the excesses & abuses of Big Tech. We must fight for them urgently—especially safeguarding kids—in the time remaining this session. As I've said repeatedly, enforcement resources are key, in the US & worldwide.https://www.nytimes.com…
@commondreams
@commondreams on x
“As the U.S. agonizes over misinformation and hate speech on social media and the harm it does to democracy,” said one journalist, the European Union passed the Digital Services Act “to tackle the problem.” https://www.commondreams.org/ ...
@jimpethokoukis
James Pethokoukis on x
And the US will force EU tech giants to .... oh, wait https://twitter.com/...
@vestager
@vestager on x
It's a wrap! We have a deal on the #DSA! Two years after we tabled the proposal 🙏 @SchaldemoseMEP and @cedric_o - and our amazing teams - for great cooperation 🇪🇺 https://twitter.com/...
@melissafleming
Melissa Fleming on x
Major development on regulation: The Digital Services Act would compel tech companies to set up new policies and procedures to remove flagged hate speech, terrorist propaganda and other material defined as illegal by countries within the European Union. https://www.nytimes.com/..…
@vestager
@vestager on x
Ta da! 16 hours, lots of sweets (but cookies still declined ;) We have a deal on the #DSA: The Digital Services Act will make sure that what is illegal offline is also seen & dealt with as illegal online - not as a slogan, as reality! And always protecting freedom of expression! …
@prestonjbyrne
Preston Byrne on x
Considering much of what is in the Digital Services Act would be facially unconstitutional if implemented in the US, I'd be very interested to know how exactly this FT writer thinks this law will be copied in the US https://twitter.com/... https://twitter.com/...
@matthewstoller
Matt Stoller on x
Chuck Schumer really needs to stop blocking the big tech antitrust bills and bring them to the floor.
@henryjfoy
Henry Foy on x
“The time of big online platforms behaving like they are ‘too big to care’ is coming to an end.” EU approves groundbreaking rules to police Big Tech platforms after 16 hours of negotiations - @JavierespFT burned the midnight oil while we were sleeping https://www.ft.com/...
@ucc_ed
Irene Kaggwa Sewankambo on x
A crime is a crime online as it is offline. EU yesterday reached agreement on the Digital Services Act which, according to EU antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager, will make sure that what is illegal offline is also seen & dealt with as illegal online https://www.consilium.europa.e…
@f_kaltheuner
@f_kaltheuner on x
The lesson from GDPR: writing laws can be easier than enforcing them. While the European Union has a reputation as the world's toughest regulator of the tech industry, its actions have sometimes appeared tougher on paper than in practice. https://www.nytimes.com/...
@slightlylate
Alex Russell on x
Essential reading. If this language holds, the future is looking bright for the web, competition, and for open computing: https://theplatformlaw.blog/ ... /by @GeradinLaw
@dalmaer
Dion Almaer on x
“This is most likely meant to address Apple's policy of requiring all browsers running on iOS to utilize Apple's WebKit browser engine...” https://theplatformlaw.blog/ ...
@jason_kint
Jason Kint on x
Lawmakers like to say with the DSA they've taken the principle that “what is illegal offline must also be illegal online.” Just imagine!
@paultang
Paul Tang on x
What is illegal offline should also be illegal online. Congrats @SchaldemoseMEP and all involved with achieving a deal on the Digital Services Act! #DSA https://twitter.com/...
@luismalhadinhas
Luís Malhadinhas on x
DSA just agreed among EU Institutions! Good news for the digital world! https://twitter.com/...
@bertuzluca
Luca Bertuzzi on x
#DSA trilogue: two hours in, there is still no agreement on any point on the agenda, a source told me. Targeted advertising is currently being discussed, but all the previous issues are still open. Brace yourself for a long day.
@nienkepalstra
@nienkepalstra on x
💥Report reveals the huge industry lobbying force at play to weaken #DSA, including how @Google tried behind the scenes to weaken the ban on surveillance ads based on sensitive data + limit data access for indepedent researchers.