The murky world of lobbying Brussels against the worst excesses of the proposed new data laws has been exposed in the weekend press, amid claims many British MEPs are in the pocket of large US firms.
The move follows concerns that the lobbying efforts of some American giants could backfire, and strengthen the resolve of other MEPs intent on making sure the draft EU Data Protection Regulation goes through unscathed.
A report in The Sunday Times accuses Tory MEP Malcolm Harbour, among others, of being one of the parliamentarians who has been “cutting and pasting” demands by Amazon, eBay, Microsoft and IBM into his own amendments to the proposals. But he is a director of the Digital Policy Alliance, which lists IBM, Microsoft and BlackBerry among its paid “members”. His involvement in the group is not declared in the European Parliament’s register of interests, although Harbour refutes suggestions that it is a lobbying organisation.
Last week, privacy groups revealed that 19 MEPs had “cut and pasted” amendments to the paper. Harbour topped the list, with nearly a quarter of his recommendations being exactly the same as those of the tech giants.
Two other Tory MEPs – Sajjad Karim and Giles Chichester – were also on the list of 19.
Privacy International spokeswoman Anna Fielder said: “Malcolm Harbour chairs the committee responsible for consumer rights. He is supposed to be protecting the consumer, not big businesses.”
The latest twist in the lobbying process comes after the DMA urged its members to write to their own MEPs to get them to alter the laws, which the trade body claims will cost the UK up to £47bn in lost sales and extra costs.
But it also shows just how sensitive many of the issues are. As one commentator told DecisionMarketing last week: ““If they’re not careful, the US approach could backfire on everyone. If MEPs feel they’re under too much pressure from massive companies, they may well think twice about changing the laws. Having said that, UK businesses must not sit on their hands; but there’s a fine line between expressing legitimate concerns and using bullying tactics.”
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