Big Tech, facing Congressional scrutiny, continues to flex its lobbying power

Photo illustration via Getty / Oct. 5 2021

Over the past few years, a growing bipartisan group in Congress has sought to reign in the titans of the tech industry, proposing legislation that would increase internet regulations and strengthen antitrust laws

But the tech companies continue to flex their political power through multimillion dollar lobbying operations, according to third quarter lobbying disclosures. 

In recent weeks, Facebook has faced intense scrutiny from Congress and the public after a trove of leaked documents revealed internal research on how the company’s social media platforms have cultivated political extremism, propelled conspiracy theories and harmed the mental health of teenagers. 

In the midst of the public relations crisis and new Congressional hearings, the company has continued to oversee one of the most expensive lobbying operations in Washington, D.C. 

Facebook spent nearly $5.1 million on lobbying expenditures in the third quarter of 2021, the second most it spent in any quarter since it began lobbying in 2009. The company only spent more in the first quarter of 2020, when its lobbying spending reached $5.2 million. 

The social media giant spent $14.7 million in the first three quarters of 2021, slightly less than the nearly $15 million the company spent at this point in 2020.

Among internet companies tracked by OpenSecrets, Facebook spent the most on lobbying in the third quarter. Amazon spent the second most at just over $5 million, a decrease from almost $5.2 million in the second quarter and more than $5.1 million in the first quarter. 

The internal Facebook documents, colloquially being called the “Facebook Papers”, leaked by former employee Frances Haugen, spurred a Senate hearing in early October where lawmakers questioned the mental health effects that Instagram, which is owned by Facebook, has on teenage users.

While Facebook continues to spend big on lobbying, its operation has had a difficult time recruiting lobbyists with connections to Democrats, who control Congress and the White House, according to the Wall Street Journal

Its current lobbying operation, including outside firms, is composed of 39 Republicans and only 22 Democrats, the Wall Street Journal found. 

On Tuesday, a Senate Commerce Committee panel questioned executives from TikTok, Snap and YouTube over what their companies are doing to protect the mental health of teenage users. 

Alphabet, the parent company of Google and YouTube, saw its lobbying expenditures jump to to almost $3.1 million in the third quarter, up from almost $2.6 million in the second quarter and $3.3 million in the first quarter. 

ByteDance, the China-based company that owns TikTok, spent the second most on lobbying in the third quarter of the companies questioned Tuesday, at $1.2 million. The company spent $810,000 in the first quarter and $1.95 million in the second quarter. 

Snap spends relatively little on lobbying compared to the other social media giants. Its third-quarter lobbying spending totaled only $50,000. It has spent only $160,000 so far in 2021, which ranks 47th among internet companies. 

Other non-American tech companies also continued to spend big on lobbying. 

Three of the top six internet companies in the third quarter are based in China. Alibaba Group, which operates an e-commerce company, spent $820,000 in the third quarter and Tencent, a tech Chinese conglomerate, spent $570,000 over that period. 

Huawei, a China-based telecommunications company spent $1.4 million in the third quarter, up from nearly $1.1 million in the second quarter. The company was placed on a U.S. trade blacklist during the Trump administration, and President Joe Biden has continued the restrictions, citing national security concerns. 

Lawmakers and government officials have argued that the Chinese government could exploit telecommunications gear sold by the company for espionage purposes. 

Third quarter lobbying disclosures reveal Huawei paid long-time Democratic operative Tony Podesta $500,000 over the past three months to lobby the White House. The disclosures state that Podesta lobbied on “issues related to telecommunication services and impacted trade issues.”

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