When I gave a presentation on lobbying in Brussels in 2017 I was interested that a number of the professional lobbyists presents complained about the excessive influence of the hi tech giants, notably Facebook, Google and Amazon. You might say this is a case of pot calling kettle back.
Nevertheless, there has been a lot of concern about the near monopoly status of Google and about Amazon's employment practices and the way in which Facebook has been used in elections. They certainly have financial clout: Google spent more than $18m in Washington DC last year.
Now it looks as if they are stepping up their activities in the UK where the regulatory framework for lobbying is generally regarded to be inadequate. A report in The Times on Tuesday pointed to recruitment adverts which suggest they are seeking to boost their lobbying staff.
At the moment it is estimated that the three companies have 50 staff working on lobbying. This, of course, follows the appointment of Sir Nick Clegg as Facebook's head of global affairs and communication, although his main lobbying focus will be the EU where he still has some clout, unlike the UK where he is a busted flush.
Responsibilities for the advertised jobs include 'working with' (i.e., influencing) policy makers and setting agendas 'inside and outside government' (no doubt using social media).
The issue of regulating lobbyists is dealt with in my short book on the topic for Manchester University Press: Lobbying
I have to admit that it's cheaper on Amazon in both the Kindle and paperback versions with a number of used copies in very good condition available!
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