In the first half of 2020, the Big Tech companies of Facebook, Amazon, Apple and Google combined to spend over $20 million on lobbying. As reported by CNBC these companies have focused on economic legislation to tackled coronavirus.
It was recently revealed to what extent Google focusses on lobbying to influence federal policy. The company also spent $17 million dollars on lobbying in 2017. Facebook has also been revealed to have involvement int anti-privacy lobbying in the EU.
Facebook and Amazon lead lobbying efforts
It appears the Facebook and Amazon spent the most on lobbying in the last six months. The social media company spent $10 million dollars with Amazon also investing a similar amount.
The main focus of big tech lobbying appears to have surrounded economic policy in response to coronavirus. Their efforts included the CARES Act, which aimed to give relief to small businesses through a federal loan program. Congress and implement the plan and has seen billions of dollars in loans approved.
Lobbying spend under scrutiny by Congress
Congress, the Federal Trade Commission and state attorneys general are concerned about much of this behaviour. These bodies have worries about potential violation of antitrust laws. All the CEO’s of these companies also faced questions from Congress this week.
None of these companies revealed exactly what they were looking to achieve in these lobbying plans. A spokesman for Facebook said the company focused on supporting small businesses. However, it did not respond to follow-up questions on the matter.
Big tech companies focus on coronavirus relief
During the pandemic, Facebook did support small businesses. The company’s chief operating officer, Sheryl Sandberg said the companies will press on with plans for a $100 million grant program to help small businesses.
Apple declined to comment on the matter whilst Google and Amazon did not respond to emails. However, some of the disclosures found in the reports give insight into likely motivations for these companies.
Amazon tapped Subject Matter, which is a lobbying shop, to lobby Congress and the Executive Office of the President. This was based on “issues related to federal and private sector testing protocols for COVID-19”.
In April, Amazon was in the middle of a workers protest due to a lack of protections for those who continued to work. Amazon paid Subject Matter $60,000 for their work in the second quarter.
Apple also embarked on a similar lobbying spending spree during this period. The company used Invariant which is another lobbying group. Records show Apple spent money to make inroads into the previously mentioned Heroes act. Records also suggest Apple was trying to make an impact on virtual learning given most schools shut down.
Google spent the least of the big four during the pandemic. However, it still tapped up three firms to focus on coronavirus relief.
The growing inflected and importance of big tech lobbying is quite a concern for the government. Anti-trust and anti-privacy issues are coming to the fore meaning these companies are more under the microscope than ever. How this all plays out is anyone’s guess but this story certainly going away any time soon.