Tech companies are meeting with government ministers more than once per working day, enjoying high-level political access that dwarfs that of child protection and copyright campaigners, who have called the pattern “shocking” and “disturbing”.
Amazon, Meta, Microsoft and Elon Musk’s Ax, whose grouchy AI image generator has sparked outrage with sexualized images of women and children, were among the US tech companies that held hundreds of meetings with people at the center of government, a Guardian investigation has found.
$4 trillion California company Google had the biggest access to more than 100 ministerial meetings, according to an analysis of meeting records spanning two years to October 2025, which campaigners said showed the tech industry had “captured” the government. Industry lobbying group Tech UK met ministers more often than once every eight working days.
Ax attended 13 meetings, a small part of the total number but still more than the child protection campaign group NSPCC or the Molly Rose Foundation, which was founded by the family of 14-year-old Molly Russell, who killed herself after viewing harmful online material.
Andy Burrows, chief executive of the Molly Rose Foundation, said, “The frequency of meetings between government and big tech and their supporters is astonishing and points to the incredible power imbalance when it comes to protecting children online.”
The government defended its position, saying “Regular engagement with technology companies is important for driving economic growth and transformation of public services”. Campaigners said the government must “stop kowtowing to US big tech companies” and said the figures revealed an “incredible power imbalance” when it comes to children’s online safety.
Controversy over In the UK, 84% of people are worried Ministers will prioritize tech company involvement over the public interest when it comes to AI regulation.
Dame Chi Onwurah, Labor chair of the Science and Technology Select Committee, said the findings “underscore the reality that the turnover of these companies exceeds the GDP of many countries, and their ability to influence is disproportionate to that of their users, our constituents, or those campaigning to make the internet safer”.
He said that “it is important for big tech to be accountable to Parliament – something that has been further underlined by disturbing recent news about ‘nudification’ devices”.
Technology companies and their lobbyists attended at least 639 meetings with ministers, while organizations fighting for greater protections for children online such as the NSPCC and campaigners attended only 75 meetings.
The reach of tech firms was more than three times that of organizations and campaigners seeking to protect creatives’ copyrighted works from being mined to create AI models, a development that celebrities including Elton John and Kazuo Ishiguro have said risks snatching away artists’ “lifeline”.
Creators’ rights campaigner Ed Newton-Rex called the figures “shocking” and said they explained why ministers had launched their consultation on AI and copyright with a “‘preferred option’ that reads like a wish list from big tech”.
He said, “It is vital that the government stops kneeling before US big tech companies – which, as the recent Groke debacle has shown, do not have the interests of the British people in mind.”
Records of more than 11,000 meetings under both Labor and Conservative show there were about 160 meetings with technology companies, more than 100 with organizations lobbying for protections on AI and copyright, and 25 with people involved in child protection.
US and Canadian AI startups Anthropic, OpenAI and Cohere together held 27 meetings with ministers. Last summer the two signed a memorandum of understanding with the UK government covering greater use of AI in public services.
A Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) spokesperson said regular engagement with tech companies is essential to ensure the safe deployment of their technology in the UK.
“These meetings covered a wide range of issues, from investment and innovation to implementing our recent laws for a safer online world,” he said. “The DSIT Minister also meets regularly with campaigns and civil society groups. As her actions on online safety this week have shown, the Science and Technology Secretary (Liz Kendall) is always ready to stand up and uphold the law and British values.”
Julian David, chief executive of Tech UK, said that given its central role in many aspects of the economy and society, “it is normal that the technology sector engages regularly and extensively with government”.
Google said it worked closely with the government to ensure “we have a positive and safe impact in the UK through our investments in communities, digital skills training, new AI products and innovative product design – including age assurance and compliance with the Online Safety Act”.
Lady Beebon Kidron, who campaigns on child protection and copyright as a cross-bench peer, said: “The naiveté of successive governments in relation to tech lobbying is disturbing. This privileged access is reflected in their policy, and the tech industry’s talking points are offered by officials. This capture creates harm.
“In opposition, Labor promised protections for women and children and to protect the creative industries, but in government they have refused to take the necessary action on both. There’s nothing wrong with teaming up with tech companies, but these figures tell us all we need to know. The government of a sovereign state has a duty to its citizens, not to its tech bros.”
