Grey arts: can lobbying rules work if nobody is sure how they apply?

With several politicians admitting they frequently don’t know whether they have been lobbied or not, a lack of clarity continues to surround the sector

TikTok considered registering the contact as lobbying as there was concern about a grey area in the act, but ultimately it was decided it was not necessary. Picture: Getty

Last June, one of TikTok’s top lobbyists in Europe held a call with two Department of Enterprise officials before submitting position papers outlining the Chinese social media company’s views on landmark plans to regulate the digital marketplace.

After the phone call, Caroline Greer, TikTok’s Brussels-based director of public policy and government relations, thanked the two for their time and wrote that “we are happy to keep in touch as the debates continue”.

The contact referred ...