• One in five at EU big tech workshops hid industry ties.
• EU’s 80-member team faces 106 gatekeeper staff and 282 lawyers.

It turns out that when it comes to EU-run events focusing on regulating big tech, transparency might not be as clear-cut as it seems. A recent report from transparency campaigners revealed that more than one in five attendees at workshops on industry regulation had undisclosed ties to companies that might be subject to regulation.

Examining the data: NGOs find alarming trends

Three NGOs took a deep dive into the data, analysing nearly 4,000 registrations for European Commission-run  workshops. Sessions earlier this year aimed to test how well major tech companies were complying with the Digital Markets Act (DMA), a regulation that aims to prevent anti-competitive behaviour.

The DMA, effective since March, labels giants like Google’s parent company Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, ByteDance (which owns TikTok), Meta, and Microsoft as “gatekeepers.” This means they need to abide by rules designed to promote fair competition, such as not prioritising their own products unfairly inside their offerings, or stopping users from uninstalling pre-installed apps.

While sometech behemoths are under investigation for potentially breaching these rules—with Apple and Meta claiming compliance, and Google making changes and defending its stance—there’s more going on behind the scenes. To ensure the companies followed rules, the EU organised six workshops, one per company, in March. Attendees had to disclose any ties to the companies being discussed, but researchers found that 21% failed to do so. The group included people from law firms, lobbying outfits, trade associations, and think-tanks – the latter are often commercial enterprises funded by interested parties with an agenda.

Concerns over influence

Margarida Silva, a researcher with the Amsterdam-based NGO Somo and co-author of the report, pointed out the potential for abuse: “Public workshops can be a powerful tool to test compliance. But without strict rules for disclosure and conflict of interest safeguards, these workshops can easily be co-opted by lawyers, lobbyists, and experts with hidden industry connections.”

The report, backed by the Corporate Europe Observatory in Brussels and Germany’s LobbyControl, came out a year after a former EU official noted in The Guardian that Brussels’ policy circles were being “insidiously” influenced by the tech industry. The researchers used data from online registration forms, where participants could voluntarily list any affiliations. They then cross-referenced these with public records, company websites, and the European Commission’s transparency register.

Hidden industry ties revealed

The findings were eye-opening. Representatives from 53 lobbying and public relations firms were present at these workshops. Among them were big names like FleishmanHillard—linked to Meta and Amazon—and Flint Europe, known for its work with Amazon, Apple, Alphabet, Meta, and Microsoft. None of the firms disclosed their connections to attendees independently, the report stated.

FleishmanHillard responded to researchers, noting that it had attended the workshops through publicly-available streams and pointed out its listing on the transparency register. DigitalEurope and the Computer and Communications Industry Association (CCIA) were also involved but reportedly didn’t declare any ties. DigitalEurope chose not to comment, while a CCIA spokesperson pushed back, saying its team had made it clear that they represent both “gatekeepers and access seekers,” adding that it maintains transparency about its members in its online publications.

Another focus was the International Center for Law and Economics (ICLE), a privately funded research group. An ICLE representative attended the Amazon session without disclosing the ICLE’s financial support it receives from Amazon and Meta. The ICLE later stated that it doesn’t disclose donor details to respect their privacy but said it had recently joined the EU’s transparency register.

In response to inquiries, an Amazon spokesperson confirmed the company’s engagement with trade associations and think tanks, emphasising that it updates its transparency register entries according to the guidelines.

One statistic stood out: over 1,000 lawyers registered, yet around one-third didn’t disclose whether their firms had current or past relationships with “gatekeeper” companies. Freshfields, widely-reported to represent Apple and Meta, led with 81 registrations, but only one attendee mentioned their connection. Similarly, Skadden, which represented TikTok’s parent company ByteDance in a failed challenge over its gatekeeper status, had 10 attendees, none of whom had made disclosures to any affiliation.

Campaigners highlighted the resource imbalance: the commission’s DMA team has about 80 staff, compared to the average 106 employees at each gatekeeper company.

A David vs. Goliath battle

Max Bank of LobbyControl likened the situation to “a classic David versus Goliath scenario,” warning that without stronger enforcement, the DMA’s promised effects could fall short. Tommaso Valletti, a former chief economist at the European Commission, shared his concern: “Resources are incredibly asymmetric, and it’s very difficult to hear other perspectives.”

Valletti, who wasn’t part of the research but gave a statement to researchers, stressed that conflicts of interest and a lack of transparency blur the lines between genuine expertise and advocacy. “We need to fix this upfront if we want a real debate about Europe’s digital future,” he said.

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