How Big Tech (Oil and Pharma) Charms and Bullies European Politicians, Journalists and Academics under the guise of furthering research - Transparency is long overdue

In a recent investigation, the New Statesman showed that Facebook, Google and Microsoft paid millions to research institutes linked to reputable universities, ostensibly to help further science.

Facebook, on the other hand tried to hide their involvement. They announced a $7.5 million grant to the Institute for Ethics in Artificial Intelligence at the Technical University of Munich and claimed that no strings were attached to the money. But an investigation by Süddeutsche Zeitung revealed that Facebook reserved itself the right to withhold funding from year to year if the institute’s personnel was not to their liking.

Together, Google, Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Bytedance (TikTok), Snap and Microsoft declared close to €25 million in lobbying spending in 2020, according to the official transparency register of the European Union. This does not include Big Pharma or Big Oil, nor what Big Tech spends across other countries or research foundations.

See How Big Tech Charms and Bullies European Politicians, Journalists and Academics - AlgorithmWatch

#technology #BigTech #lobbying #EU

Google, Facebook and other very large tech companies built a lobbying system that, under the guise of furthering research or journalism, binds intellectuals in a complex network of patronage. Transparency is long overdue.

source https://gadgeteer.co.za/how-big-tech-oil-and-pharma-charms-and-bullies-european-politicians-journalists-and-academics-under