19/01/2026
The question may sound provocative, but new research by Corporate Europe Observatory (CEO) and LobbyControl makes it increasingly hard to ignore.
The two organisations have published a detailed analysis showing how the European Commission’s key proposals in the so-called Digital Omnibus closely mirror long-standing lobbying demands from Big Tech. When public consultations and impact assessments are skipped, someone still fills the gap. This time, it looks very much like the tech industry did the drafting. The research traces eight major changes proposed to cornerstone EU digital laws, including the GDPR, the AI Act and the ePrivacy framework. Seven of these changes align closely with the positions of major tech corporations and their lobby groups. These are not technical adjustments. They would weaken digital rights, reduce accountability, and further entrench business models built on mass data extraction and opaque AI systems. The Commission frames the Digital Omnibus as a simplification exercise in the name of “competitiveness”. Yet the proposals read less like neutral policy coordination and more like a wish list from Google, Meta, Microsoft and their industry associations. From narrowing the definition of personal data, to limiting citizens’ access rights, to delaying and diluting safeguards in the AI Act, the direction is clear: less protection for people, more leeway for platforms.
Deregulation, lobbying and the far-right connection
Equally worrying is what the research reveals about political strategy. Meta, and to a lesser extent Google, are increasingly engaging with far-right and right-wing populist MEPs. Meta alone went from just one such meeting in the previous parliamentary term to 38 in the current one. This appears to be a calculated bet on an emerging EPP–far-right majority that could push through digital deregulation with minimal resistance. This convergence between corporate lobbying and authoritarian political forces should set off alarm bells. Weakening data protection, accountability and transparency does not only benefit Big Tech. It undermines democratic oversight and fundamental rights at a moment when digital technologies already play a central role in surveillance, political influence and social control.
A test for European democracy
The process matters as much as the substance. By sidelining public consultations and impact assessments, the Commission has effectively outsourced policy design to those with the largest lobbying budgets. As CEO and LobbyControl document, Big Tech’s lobbying spending has surged, and the returns on that investment are now visible in EU legislative proposals. The Digital Omnibus is not yet final. The European Parliament still has the opportunity to scrutinise, amend or reject these changes, and resistance from civil society and several member states is growing. If Europe is serious about protecting digital rights and democratic control over technology, it must ask a simple question: who is this legislation really written for?