Taoiseach Micheál Martin’s office has refused to release details of correspondence it had with tech giant Apple earlier this year, citing sensitivities around security, defence and international relations.
Some of the world’s biggest tech companies lobbied the Government on Europe’s economic competitiveness and regulations, artificial intelligence, and online safety for children in advance of Ireland’s EU presidency.
Newly released records show the topics major companies such as Google and Apple raised, while there were discussions between Minister for Public Expenditure Jack Chambers and OpenAI on how Ireland could act as “a bridge” between the US and Europe.
The Government has been under scrutiny on how it will manage politically sensitive topics such as tech regulation, and any changes to the bloc’s digital rules, for the six months Ireland will be chairing EU policy debates.
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The country holding the presidency of the Council of the European Union is tasked with being a neutral broker in negotiations involving the other 26 member states, to steer the discussion towards agreed positions.
Ireland hosts the European bases of several tech giants, but the Taoiseach has previously rejected any suggestion the Government would go to bat for US tech multinationals in Brussels.
Records released under Freedom of Information laws show Apple chief executive Tim Cook wrote to Martin after the pair met at the World Economic Forum in Davos in January.
A section of the February 9th letter was redacted in the release on the basis information was obtained “in confidence”, some of which was “commercially sensitive”.
After this redacted section, Cook’s letter reads: “I remain hopeful that a renewed focus on competitiveness can help address these concerns in a constructive manner to benefit Europe and Ireland’s economies.”
Subsequent correspondence from the Taoiseach to Apple on February 25th was withheld from the release by the Department of the Taoiseach.
The reasons given were “deliberations of FOI bodies”; “security, defence and international relations”; and “information obtained in confidence”.
Separately, a Government statement said the Taoiseach had a call with Cook on June 29th.
It said topics discussed “included Apple’s new online safety features” as well as “wider economic developments, including digital regulation, and Ireland’s presidency of the Council of the EU”.
Records also show a series of recent contacts between Google’s top lobbyist Kent Walker and the Taoiseach, as well as Chambers.
Walker, Google’s president of global affairs, met Martin on February 9th. Minutes of the meeting show that “digital and AI regulation” were discussed, as well as “competitiveness challenges at EU level”.
In a subsequent letter from Walker to Martin, he wrote Google “particularly appreciate[s]” Ireland’s commitment to making Europe more competitive and “your advocacy for digital simplification”.
The latter comment was a reference to work under way in Brussels to streamline and pare back certain EU regulations covering artificial intelligence and tech.
“We look forward to Ireland taking on the presidency of the EU in July, and stand ready to support in any way we can,” he told the Taoiseach.
Separate records show Walker welcomed Chambers to Google’s headquarters in Mountain View, California, on April 30th.
A Department of Public Expenditure note of the meeting said Walker “highlighted some priorities” including “advancing responsible innovation” and “online safety – including parental controls and guardrails”.
Google has a “safe search” function for children as part of its search engine as well as a stand-alone YouTube Kids app for its video-sharing website.
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In response to queries on the lobbying, a Google spokesman told The Irish Times: “We have an important, collaborative relationship with leaders all over the world on the issues that relate to our business.
“Our products and services deliver significant economic and social benefits to businesses and individuals in Ireland and across Europe, and so we will continue to champion measures that support competitiveness and success across the continent.”
A Government statement said the discussion at the meeting between Walker and the Taoiseach was “wide-ranging”.
It said: “On digital regulation, the Taoiseach referenced the Government’s updated national digital and AI strategy, Digital Ireland, which includes a commitment to strengthening Ireland’s position as an EU centre of excellence and digital regulatory hub.”
It added that the strategy includes a commitment to “ensuring that our digital regulators are sufficiently resourced to support the discharge of their regulatory responsibilities, reflecting the expansion of the EU’s digital regulatory framework”.
