One of the world's largest lobbies is the lobby of big tech companies. The companies that own the largest digital platforms maintain a constant, and highly sophisticated, presence behind the scenes of public power.
Hi, my name is Laura, I have a master's degree in communication and am an undergraduate student in internet systems. Today I want to talk about how these pressure groups seek to influence public decisions in favor of their own interests.
Lobbying strategies range from holding official meetings with parliamentarians to less transparent forms, such as campaign financing, hiring former politicians for strategic positions, or offering trips and indirect benefits to authorities.
In Brazil, to this day, there is no specific law regulating this activity. This institutional vacuum creates fertile ground for opaque pressures and strategies to capture public power, allowing private interests to circulate in Congress as if they were authored by members of parliament.
In 2023, Big Tech companies mobilized a gigantic lobby to block the Fake News Bill. This project sought to hold platforms accountable and mandate greater transparency in algorithms, but was stalled after an offensive of discreet negotiations.
The pressure is not limited to the Legislative branch. In 2020, members of CADE undertook international trips financed by organizations associated with Google. Shortly afterward, a decision by the body exempted the company from paying multimillion-dollar fines.
In 2024, Meta broke historical records for lobbying investment, spending more than $24 million to influence the US Congress. In Brazil, this results in the systematic postponement of proposals that could create a more democratic digital environment.
The absence of lobbying regulation reinforces an asymmetry: on one side, companies with billions of dollars; on the other, a civil society with far less power. As long as this is not countered, we will remain in a scenario of imbalance.
The algorithm IS NOT NEUTRAL. The insistent discourse about "non-interference" by the state is nothing more than rhetoric used by corporations while they actively interfere in the formulation of our laws.
Ultimately, the essential question that emerges is: who defines the rules of the internet—elected representatives or the companies that own the platforms? I want to know what you think in the comments.