Major US technology companies have tapped into the European far-right to help pressure the European Commission into stripping back regulations for its sector, according to a new report released on Wednesday.
The European Commission's deregulatory push in the Digital Omnibus – which delayed the AI Act and weakened GDPR protections – was also revealed to closely align with Big Tech’s lobbying demands, while seriously damaging EU citizens' digital rights.
Big Tech companies such as Google, Microsoft and Meta increased their meetings with far-right groups in the European Parliament ahead of the Commission's push last year, revealed a new analysis by non-profit organisations Corporate Europe Observatory (CEO) and LobbyControl.
"This is largely because the far-right has expressed support for the Commission’s deregulation plans," Bram Vranken, CEO’s researcher and campaigner, told The Brussels Times.
EP buildings of the European Parliament in Brussels. Credit: EU
Vranken pointed to comments made by the Patriots for Europe group, which called on the Commission "to go further" than the Digital Omnibus, while the ECR group said that the Digital Omnibus "is good news, but not enough".
US tech giants are now spreading their messages with a record-breaking lobbying budget, a huge lobbying network, and support from the Trump administration, according to the report.
The digital industry’s annual lobby spending has grown from €113 million in 2023 to €151 million today – an increase of 33.6% in just two years. United States President Trump, too, has threatened to punish the EU with tariffs for regulating US tech companies.
Far-right allies
During this parliamentary term, far-right MEPs have helped the conservative political group the EPP, the biggest party in the European Parliament (which also leads the European Commission), form a new majority in several areas.
Big Tech has clearly spotted the opportunity, illustrated by the rise in meetings with far-right MEPs during this legislative period. There are now some 180 far-right-affiliated MEPs in three different political groups after the 2024 European election results.
"Considering that the first Omnibus on corporate sustainability rules was passed by an EPP-far right majority in Parliament, a similar dynamic might become a decisive factor in the coming months on the Digital Omnibus," Vranken explained.
"Big Tech companies, and especially Meta, seem to be anticipating this possibility and have spent the past months building relationships with far-right MEPs," he said.
Campaigners from People vs Big Tech, WeMove Europe, and EDRi launched four mobile billboards driving across Brussels, calling on Ursula von der Leyen to stand up to Trump and Big Tech, and defend Europe’s digital laws, Wednesday 19 November 2025.
During this parliamentary mandate, Meta has already met 38 times with MEPs from the ECR, the Patriots for Europe and the Europe of Sovereign Nations Group, according to Vranken.
In the week of 8 December alone, representatives of the Silicon Valley company met with four far-right lawmakers, with the majority of meetings referencing the Digital Omnibus.
For comparison, Meta only met once with a far-right MEP in the last mandate. "The Commission’s deregulation agenda is not just opening the door to Big Tech, it's inviting the far-right in," Vranken stresses.
US-Europe tensions
The report's findings lead to questions about Europe’s ties with the US in a time of unprecedented tensions between the two historic allies.
Since returning to office, the US President has repeatedly treated the EU and its leaders with contempt, while also promoting right-wing populist and far-right parties in Europe, as outlined in the new National Security Strategy.
"Big Tech firms have successfully tapped into the Trump administration's hostility towards the EU to attack its digital rulebook. And this is proving to be successful," Vranken explained.
Yet, Vranken believes it is "deeply ironic" that the Commission is promoting its deregulation agenda as a way to make the EU competitive. "In reality, it is actively empowering US Big Tech companies that dominate the field."
President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, travels to Scotland, upon invitation of Donald Trump, President of the United States, to discuss transatlantic trade relations Sunday 28 July 2025. Credit: EU
The Commission’s digital package was framed as boosting competitiveness as per Mario Draghi's agenda – but this research shows that it largely dismantles core GDPR, ePrivacy, and AI Act safeguards in ways that mainly benefit US firms.
Campaigners are angry that enforcement of the Digital Service Act (DSA) and the Digital Markets Act (DMA) has also been delayed despite the evidence of non-compliance by these tech firms. And now, the Commission is rolling back key digital rights in line with tech lobbying positions.
"The European Commission is fixed on the misguided idea that deregulation will unleash AI innovation, and has made that dogma one of its cornerstone policies," Vranken explains. "Deregulation in a highly monopolised market, however, only risks further entrenching dominant players."
Talking points
Moreover, the research revealed that the changes being pushed through in the Digital Omnibus correspond to the aims and talking points of the major tech companies and lobbying groups.
In the report, CEO and LobbyControl have detailed the different changes put forward by the European Commission and matched them with US tech giants' lobbying goals on legislation, the AI Act and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
These positions are built on specific narratives: data protection as hindering innovation, pushing for "legitimate interest" on personal data collection, and the deregulation of AI.
For example, European citizens' sensitive data (such as race, sexuality, politics) can be collected to train AI models, given that it would now fall under "legitimate interest".
This aligns with lobbying from CCIA, DigitalEurope, and Dot Europe, which have all been calling to change the concept of "legitimate interest" to develop AI models.
Companies can now also refuse or charge for data access requests they deem "abusive" or "excessive," a position promoted by Google and also the German government.
Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta, testifies during the US Senate Judiciary Committee hearing "Big Tech and the Online Child Sexual Exploitation Crisis" in Washington, DC, on January 31, 2024. Credit: Belga / AFP
Training AI with your data
On AI too, the delay of the much-anticipated AI Act was found to correspond to the key aims of lobby groups such as CCIA and DigitalEurope, and Meta itself, according to the report.
Another example is the delay in the registration of high-risk AI systems, which was a key goal of DigitalEurope and Dot Europe, which they were seeking to abolish registration altogether.
High-risk AI systems include the automated processing of personal data or police risk assessment, but also AI-driven employment screening, credit scoring, and its use for critical infrastructure like power or water grids.
Now, the European Commission wants to give AI companies the power to self-assess the risk, and thereby deploy potentially harmful systems for longer with little oversight, the report stresses.
The report also comes out amid political questions around AI, notably on election interference and the rise of deepfakes, as illustrated by the X scandal involving its AI bot Grok generating AI images digitally undressing women and even children, upon request by users.
Foreign interference and disinformation, aided by fake content produced by AI with deepfakes, is also an ongoing problem in European politics.
An investigation by the European Media Observatory, published in May, outlined how the European far-right is using false AI-generated content to "persistently" deceive voters, such as the German far-right party AfD during the German elections last year.
Donald Trump and Elon Musk, who expressed support for far-right parties in Europe, at a presidential rally in 2024. Credit: Belga
Commission rejects claims
In response to the allegations, particularly of how Big Tech helped shape the Digital Omnibus, a European Commission spokesperson told The Brussels Times it "firmly rejects" the allegations made by the report.
"The Digital Omnibus is the result of a comprehensive, transparent process where civil society, SMEs, and academic institutions have had equal opportunity to provide input," the spokesperson said.
The Commission maintains that deregulation or "simplification" benefits all companies in the EU. "From factories to start-ups, businesses will spend less time on administrative work and more time innovating and scaling up," they concluded.
Lobby group CCIA Europe also denied a rise in meetings with far-right MEPs in its own activities to The Brussels Times, and stated that it does not comment on the individual outreach or advocacy strategies of their member companies.
"CCIA Europe remains committed to supporting the recommendations of Mr Letta and Mr Draghi for the European institutions to pursue meaningful efforts to simplify EU tech rules," said CCIA Europe’s Senior Vice President & Head of Office, Daniel Friedlaender, in a comment to The Brussels Times.
While EU officials and lobbyists deny the claims, campaigners are calling on civil society and national governments to reject the Digital Omnibus in its current form, citing the huge pushback from civil society organisations since its announcement.
They underline that this Commission's deregulation agenda "threatens to undermine years of progress in reining in these tech giants and protecting EU citizens' privacy."
Now, the Digital Omnibus is set to be voted on in the second half of this year by the European Parliament and is also being discussed by representatives inside the European Council.
The full report is available here.
Meta did not respond to a request for comment by the time of publication.
