Members of the panel said the platforms resisted proposals that would require them to be transparent about their business models. Richard Allan, Facebook’s chief lobbyist in Europe and a member of the expert panel, allegedly threatened to end Facebook’s support for journalistic and academic projects if competition tools continued to be discussed. The news comes on the heels of the European parliamentary elections, set to take place Thursday to Sunday. Both Facebook and Google declined to comment. (OpenDemocracy)

Talking point: The news comes as tech giants are publicly expressing a willingness to be regulated. For example, last week, tech firms including Facebook and Google signed a pledge to work with governments and each other in curbing the spread of violent content online, following the livestreaming of mass shootings in Christchurch, New Zealand. This behind-the-scenes lobbying in Europe shows how tech giants are still aiming to control the type of regulations they’d be subject to.