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WASHINGTON – Large technology companies are making provision for a new administration and re-examination of their businesses with a proven strategy: opening their pocketbooks.
| Ticker | Safety | Last | Alter | Alter% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| APPL | after | after | after | after |
| GOOG | ALPHABET INC. | 1,901.05 | +9.80 | + 0.52% |
| TWTR | TWITTER INC. | 48.06 | +0.94 | + 1.99% |
| ORCL | ORACLE CORPORATION | 60.35 | -0.83 | -1.36% |
| AMZN | AMAZON.COM INC. | 3,292.23 | -14.76 | -0.45% |
| FB | FACEBOOK INC. | 274.50 | +1.63 | + 0.60% |
According to the Wall Street Journal analysis of the latest revelations last year, Facebook Inc. and Amazon.com Inc. all other U.S. companies in federal lobbying. This was the second consecutive year that they spent all other companies, including stalwarts like AT&T Inc. and Boeing Co.
Facebook, which faces federal and state antitrust laws, as well as a series of hearings summoning CEO Mark Zuckerberg to Washington, spent nearly $ 20 million in 2020, an increase of nearly 18% from the previous year.
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Amazon, which witnessed CEO Jeff Bezos for the first time before Congress and continued to expand its business as a government contractor, spent about $ 18 million last year, about 11% compared to 2019 spending.
“We were clear that the internet needs updated regulations, and therefore we will continue to support new rules that address the current reality online,” a Facebook spokesman said.
Large technology companies are providing for a new administration and a new investigation into their businesses with a proven strategy: opening their pocketbooks. (AP Photo / Michel Spingler, File)
‘Amazon offers a wide range of products and services to our customers, and we’re always looking for ways to innovate on their behalf. “Our Washington, DC team is committed to ensuring that we advocate for issues that are important to policymakers, our employees, and our customers,” an Amazon spokesman said.
The Journal analyzed reports submitted by U.S. businesses to Congress under the Lobbying Disclosure Act. The reports cover the full year.
Apple Inc. announced $ 6.7 million in lobbying spending for 2020, up from a record $ 7.4 million in 2019.
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Alphabet Inc. Google also reported a decline in lobbying for the second consecutive year, spending $ 7.5 million.
Apple and Google declined to comment on spending on lobbying.
Such expenditures, which should be made public under federal law, are only part of a range of efforts the four tech giants are using to counter their critics and build goodwill in Washington at a time when they are under a better spotlight than ever before.
Google and Facebook are facing several antitrust lawsuits, and Amazon and Apple are subject to preliminary investigations that could progress further under Biden’s government.
President Biden has not set out a technological agenda or made important staff choices across the sector, but Democrats in Congress are urging them to be more aggressive in tackling Big Tech’s market power. They plan their own legislation and oversee issues such as antitrust, privacy, liability for user-generated content and misinformation.
The role of social media in the Capitol riot on January 6 gave these plans new urgency and led to Facebook, Amazon and other political donations being suspended and a source of influence being curtailed.
An important part of the companies ‘playbook is funding groups that agree with the companies’ agenda.
In a separate announcement of its political activity, Google said in December that it was a member or a significant contributor to nearly 200 trade associations and political advocacy groups, including several working on antitrust issues. Some of the groups criticized Google.
When a coalition of attorneys general in Colorado filed an antitrust case against Google in mid-December over its dominance in the online search, the president of the Connected Commerce Council – one of the groups funded by Google is – a statement issued in which the action exploded. It was emailed to reporters before the details of the case were made public.
The president of the council is small businesses that benefit from technology enterprise products, said President Jake Ward. He said he used funds from Facebook, Google and Amazon to fund research and staff, but the companies have no opinion on the positions the group occupies.
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In 2020, Facebook backed a new advocacy group, the American Edge Project, to warn against the dangers of technological innovation.
In December, two of the group’s paid advisers, former sense. Saxby Chambliss (R., Ga.) And Kent Conrad (D., ND), wrote a Washington Times commentary referring to a poll conducted on behalf of the group that showed voters were high. rating level for US technology products and enterprises.
A representative of American Edge said she has more than two dozen members from diverse backgrounds. This includes advocacy groups for other industries, such as medical device manufacturers.
Apple has taken a proactive stance because it feels the antitrust spotlight. Prior to a July hearing with CEO Tim Cook and other CEOs last year, the company offered to brief congressional staff about a study showing the economic benefits of its App Store. An Apple spokesman said the study was developed as a curtain lifter for the company’s global developer conference.
According to LinkedIn profiles of their employees, the companies also hired Washington experience. Under the supervision of the Federal Trade Commission, Facebook last year appointed Barbara Blank, a 12-year-old FTC veteran and former senior official in the agency’s competition bureau, which manages antitrust suits.
It also led two former staff members of the Senate Legal Affairs Committee, which oversees antitrust and other technological issues.
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Amazon, the subject of a preliminary FTC investigation, last year recruited an antitrust attorney from the Department of Justice and hired four former FTC officials, including three antitrust attorneys and an economist.
Apple has hired a Justice Department lawyer and a former FTC antitrust officer who also advises FTC Commissioner Rebecca Slaughter, now the agency’s acting chair.
Some of the businesses also buy ads aimed at Washington. Facebook bought digital ads in Washington publications in 2020, suggesting support for ‘updated Internet regulations’.
Big Tech this month is offering the Biden administration assistance in combating the coronavirus pandemic and highlighted long-shared policy priorities.
A senior Amazon CEO told Mr. Biden wrote a letter on Inauguration Day in public in which he offered IT and logistics assistance to run a coronavirus vaccine.
Google CEO Sundar Pichai praised Biden’s first day of executive action on the pandemic, climate change and immigration. Apple’s Mr Cook also praised Biden’s immigration policy.
And before the inauguration, Facebook representatives spoke with the Biden Transition about companies’ efforts to combat misinformation about the coronavirus, and CEO Mark Zuckerberg told the disease’s federal expert on the disease, Anthony Fauci, hosted for a chat broadcast online.
Among other technology companies, Microsoft Corp. spent $ 9.4 million on lobbying in 2020, Oracle Corp. spent about $ 8.1 million, TikTok owner ByteDance Inc. spent $ 2.6 million and Twitter Inc. $ 1.5 million spent.