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And the dictionary definition of lobbying is "to conduct activities aimed at influencing public officials and especially members of a legislative body on legisl
by antientropic 9y ago
And the dictionary definition of lobbying is "to conduct activities aimed at influencing public officials and especially members of a legislative body on legislation" (Webster). If I send an email to my MEP to ask them to block the proposed filtering requirement, I'm engaged in lobbying. In fact, this GitHub blog post is a form of lobbying, since it explicitly asks readers to contact EU policymakers. How is that corruption? It isn't - lobbying is free speech and an essential part of the democratic process.
- cyphar 9y ago> lobbying is free speech and an essential part of the democratic process. It is, but then by your own argument it isn't a way to gauge industry expertise. Because anyone can lobby (so expertise isn't a factor -- and the politician isn't in a position to assess the expertise of a particular lobbyist), and those with more time and money can lobby more than anyone else. This is part of what makes it a problem, and makes people connect it with corruption -- because the only people who can effectively engage in corruption are the same people who can effectively engage in lobbying (those with large troves of cash).
- roselan 9y agoIt would be if it was public, but most of it isnheld behind closed doors.