20200609 Googles Lobby-Netzwerk aufdecken!

Who gets money from Google and for what?

Some of you may remember how cars were driving through the streets on Google's behalf and scanning our WLANs on the side. Google still does what it wants. For months, Google has refused to provide any information about its lobby network in Germany and the EU.

That's why LobbyControl has now launched a campaign. With an open letter and the support of as many people as possible, the pressure on the Group is to be increased. LobbyControl writes about the campaign:

Googling has become a synonym for "finding out something quickly". But Google of all people has been refusing to answer a simple question for months. *We want to know: Which think tanks and associations does the group support in Germany and the EU? The question is burning, because important decisions on the political shaping of digitization are imminent. There is a danger that corporations will exert influence on it by covert means and assert their interests at the expense of the general public.

Covert influence via apparently independent third parties is a particularly effective and dangerous lobbying instrument. When research institutes or cross-sector associations lobby for a cause, this creates a particular impression on politicians and the public. If their connections to companies are not visible, this is problematic. In the USA, Google has revealed that the company supports 350 organisations there through memberships or financial injections.

But Google keeps information about its network of influence in Germany and the EU under wraps. This is unacceptable! We demand clarification in an open letter to Google boss Sundar Pichai - please sign so that the company can finally put its cards on the table.

No more Google secrecy!

LobbyControl - Initiative für Transparenz und Demokratie e.V.
Am Justizzentrum 7 , 50939 Köln

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