Calls to drop the controversial appointment of Meta’s former chief EU lobbyist – who became an MEP in 2024 – are growing in Brussels, amid accusations of a conflict of interest.
At the start of the month, the largest European group, the right-wing European People’s Party (EPP), quietly appointed Finnish MEP Aura Salla as European Parliament rapporteur for the Digital Omnibus, where she will lead negotiations for the EU's only elected institution.
Salla was Meta's chief lobbyist in Brussels between 2020 and 2023, acting as the company’s Head of EU Affairs and director of policy. A year later, she was elected to the European Parliament with the right-wing EPP group in Finland.
The Digital Omnibus is a key digital deregulation push which could strip back the EU’s digital rulebook, including the GDPR and ePrivacy framework – which give EU citizens stronger data protection.
According to Salla, she is "honoured" to serve as rapporteur for the Digital Omnibus. "My priority is ensure that EU digital rules are clear, workable and support Europe’s competitiveness while continuing to protect European people's rights," Salla (EPP, Finland) told The Brussels Times following her appointment.
Meta's former chief lobbyist in Brussels and current Finnish MEP Aura Salla (EPP). Credit: EU
In November, the European Commission announced plans to deregulate several EU digital laws, including GDPR, via the Digital Omnibus reform. The omnibus is a "fast-track" procedure that jumps several impact assessments and feedback from legal services in EU institutions.
Under the plans, the implementation of the AI Act is delayed (including delaying protection from high-risk AI systems until 2027), as well as weakening data protections for EU citizens (including using people's data to train AI models and lowering protection from cookies).
This is particularly favourable to large US tech companies, which have launched a sabre-rattling lobbying operation since 2024, having spent €151 million – an increase of 33.6% compared to 2023 – in a bid to weaken the EU's regulation. They are also getting support from the current US administration under President Donald Trump.
Now, the Digital Omnibus is set to be discussed by the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy (ITRE) in the European Parliament. In essence, Salla will be leading the negotiation on behalf of all MEPs, which has led to accusations of undue influence over the legislative process.
'Unacceptable'
Since being announced, Salla's appointment has led to protests and concern among certain MEPs and civil society organisations.
"Putting a former Meta lobbyist in charge of rewriting Europe's privacy rules – the so-called GDPR – is unacceptable," Belgian MEP Sara Matthieu (Groen, Greens/EFA), member of the ITRE committee, told The Brussels Times.
"Meta has spent years fighting the very data protection rules she is now supposed to negotiate," she said. "Zuckerberg has dismantled content moderation, amplified disinformation and extremism, and openly aligned himself with Trump's agenda of tech deregulation."
Belgian MEP Sara Matthieu (Groen) speaking in the European Parliament. Credit: EU
Matthieu points to Elon Musk's X platform, labelling it as "a vector for foreign interference" in European elections, calling it a serious problem facing European democracies today.
Belgian MEP Yvan Verougstraete, leader of French-speaking centrist party Les Engagés, said the appointment "raises legitimate questions", but added that Salla's previous experience could be "an asset". He is vice-chair of the ITRE committee.
"I don't want to prejudge what will happen. But it is sometimes said that poachers make the best gamekeepers," Verougstraete (Les Engagés, Renew Europe) told The Brussels Times on Wednesday. "Knowing the strategies of the major platforms from the inside can help to anticipate their methods and better regulate their practices."
However, the leader of Les Engagés believes that the appointment will require "extra vigilance" from everyone.
Old friends
Protests have also come from civil society organisations, who find themselves increasingly crowded out of the political debate in Brussels.
On Wednesday, seven watchdog organisations, including The Good Lobby and Corporate Observatory Europe (CEO), published an open letter calling on the coordinators of the European Parliament’s ITRE committee, where Salla was appointed, to drop her as rapporteur.
The open letter raises serious concerns about potential conflicts of interest, given Salla’s former role as a senior lobbyist for Meta and her continued contacts with the company, with many of her then-colleagues still responsible for lobbying MEPs.
It also argued that: "At a time when digital rights, data protection, and democratic safeguards are under growing pressure from Big Tech lobbying and geopolitical developments, it is crucial that EU policymaking remains transparent, accountable, and free from undue corporate influence."
Business or EU citizens
The EPP has faced many accusations of serving the interests of big businesses over EU citizens. Despite claims to be helping small businesses, many experts have said the changes to privacy rules will mainly help large US tech companies maintain their role as digital gatekeepers.
Belgian MEP, Wouter Beke (EPP, CD&V), who also sits in the ITRE committee and is a member of the political group that appointed Salla, declined to comment to The Brussels Times, as did the EPP.
Meanwhile, Verougstraete stated that the EPP had "already given the impression on several occasions that it is more attentive to the concerns of big tech companies than to those of citizens."
MEP Yvan Verougstraete (Les Engagés) sits as vice-chair in the ITRE committee. Credit: EU
"But parliamentary work is not limited to one person. The text will be debated, amended and negotiated. There will be counterbalances," he stressed.
Verougstraete further explains that he thinks that the EPP's recent voting patterns have created the impression that the group puts the interests of tech giants ahead of the online security of European citizens.
"There have been positions taken by the EPP that have fuelled this suspicion, particularly when it comes to relaxing certain obligations imposed on large platforms. This raises a real political debate," he stressed.
But ultimately, it is up to Salla to decide how she acts as rapporteur, Verougstraete adds, while stressing that her insider knowledge could be of help.
Naive or asset?
"Ultimately, everything will depend on the choices Salla makes in the exercise of her responsibilities. It is up to her to demonstrate that she is acting in the general European interest, and not in the interests of her former employer," he continued.
Despite this, the French-speaking centrist believes that online safety, the protection of minors, the transparency of algorithms and compliance with our European rules "are non-negotiable" for him.
While some appear willing to see how Salla chooses to behave, Dutch-speaking Groen MEP Matthieu has joined civil society's calls to replace her, citing serious concerns around her conflict of interest.
"This is the tech oligarchy writing its own rulebook — inside the European Parliament," Greens/EFA MEP Matthieu said. "We can no longer afford to be naive. The push for deregulation led by Trump and his Big Tech allies is a threat to democracy, not a gift to it."
Requests for comment were put in for Meta, the European People's Party (EPP), MEP Bruno Toback (Vooruit, S&D), MEP Kris Van Dijck (N-VA, ECR) and The Good Lobby, but were not answered by the time of publication.
Wouter Beke MEP (CD&V, EPP) declined to comment.
