Such committed efforts should be a wake-up call to EU policymakers to beef up the draft laws and lobbying rules, according to the study from two campaign groups, Corporate Europe Observatory and LobbyControl.
The tech sector now outspends even the pharma, fossil fuels, finance and chemicals sectors, which all used to dominate EU lobbying, the report said.
"The rising lobby firepower of big tech and the digital industry as a whole mirrors the sectors' huge and growing role in society," the study said. "It is remarkable and should be a cause of concern that the platforms can use this firepower to ensure their voices are heard – over countervailing and critical voices – in the debate over how to construct new rules for digital platforms."
The study found that 612 companies, groups and associations spend more than €97m (£83m) annually lobbying on EU digital economy policies. The data was submitted by companies to the EU Transparency...