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<p>These poor big tech guys having to unnecessarily spend so much of
their hard earned money will find respite if instead of all this
shadowy work they can directly have seats at the policy making
table, as many here are working so hard to to get them, like with
the new proposed MS body for global digital policy making ..
Public interest spirited civil society organisations as this US
based NGO Public Citizen, that brought out this excellent report,
can also then stop howling against our big tech benefactors. <br>
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<p>parminder <br>
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<p class="header4-brow">Link to report: <a
href="https://www.citizen.org/article/big-tech-lobbying-update/">https://www.citizen.org/article/big-tech-lobbying-update/</a></p>
<p class="header4-brow">“Facebook and Amazon are now the<strong><span
style="font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif""> two
biggest corporate lobbying spenders</span></strong> in the
country.”</p>
<h1><span class="tape1-inner"><b>Big Tech, Big Cash: Washington’s
New Power Players</b></span></h1>
<h2><span class="tape1-inner">An updated analysis of the rise in
lobbying and campaign contributions from the Big Tech companies:
Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google</span></h2>
<h2>Executive Summary</h2>
<p>In recent years, Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google have all
come under increased scrutiny for threatening our privacy,
democracy, small businesses, and workers.</p>
<p>In the race to amass monopoly power in their respective markets,
these corporations have developed predatory business practices
that harvest user data for profit<sup>[1]</sup> and facilitated
discrimination by race, religion, national origin,<sup>[2]</sup>
age,<sup>[3]</sup> and gender.<sup>[4]</sup> Facebook and Google
have wielded unprecedented influence over our democratic process.<sup>[5]</sup>
Amazon has been accused of subjecting workers to unsafe working
conditions during COVID-19,<sup>[6]</sup> while the plurality of
its workforce is Black, brown, and/or non-white.<sup>[7]</sup> All
of these companies have killed, rather than fostered innovation.<sup>[8]</sup></p>
<p>Increased investments in Washington have allowed these
monopolists to harm consumers, workers, and other businesses
alike, with relatively little accountability to date. A <a
href="https://www.citizen.org/article/new-economy-titans-old-school-tactics/?eType=EmailBlastContent&eId=5d62d87d-0456-4903-a47d-19602d1e1ad8">report
Public Citizen released in 2019</a> (covering up to the 2018
election cycle) detailed how Big Tech corporations have blanketed
Capitol Hill with lobbyists and lavished members of Congress with
campaign contributions.</p>
<p>This is an update of that report, based on data provided by the <a
href="https://www.opensecrets.org/" target="_blank">Center for
Responsive Politics</a>. Since the 2020 election cycle has
ended, Public Citizen reevaluated Big Tech’s influence over the
government by analyzing the tech companies’ lobbying spending and
campaign contributions.</p>
<p>Here are the key findings of this report:</p>
<ul type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal"
style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;mso-list:l0
level1 lfo1">Facebook and Amazon are now the<strong><span
style="font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif""> two
biggest corporate lobbying spenders</span></strong> in the
country.<sup>[9]</sup></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"
style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;mso-list:l0
level1 lfo1">Big Tech has eclipsed yesterday’s big lobbying
spenders, Big Oil and Big Tobacco. In 2020, Amazon and Facebook
spent <strong><span
style="font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"">nearly
twice as much</span></strong> as Exxon and Philip Morris on
lobbying.</li>
<li class="MsoNormal"
style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;mso-list:l0
level1 lfo1">During the 2020 election cycle, Big Tech spent <strong><span
style="font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"">$124
million in lobbying and campaign contributions </span></strong>––
breaking its own records from past election cycles.</li>
<li class="MsoNormal"
style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;mso-list:l0
level1 lfo1">Amazon and Facebook drove most of this growth. From
the years of 2018-2020, Amazon <strong><span
style="font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"">increased
spending by 30%</span></strong> while Facebook <strong><span
style="font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"">added an
astounding 56%</span></strong> to its Washington investment.</li>
<li class="MsoNormal"
style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;mso-list:l0
level1 lfo1">The four Big Tech companies recruited more
lobbyists into their army, increasing its ranks by<strong><span
style="font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif""> 40 new
lobbyists</span></strong>, from 293 in 2018 to 333 in 2020.<sup>[10]</sup></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"
style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;mso-list:l0
level1 lfo1">Big Tech PACs, lobbyists, and employees contributed
<strong><span
style="font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"">over
33% more </span></strong>in the 2020 election cycle than
they did in the 2018 cycle, for <strong><span
style="font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"">an
increase of over $4 million </span></strong>in funds, and a
<strong><span
style="font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"">total
of nearly $16.5 million </span></strong>in contributions to
the election cycle. This marks the greatest cycle-over-cycle
increase in campaign contributions from Big Tech in the ten-year
span Public Citizen reviewed.</li>
<li class="MsoNormal"
style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;mso-list:l0
level1 lfo1">Big Tech’s lobbyists are not just numerous, they
are also among the most influential in Washington. Among the 10
lobbyists who were the biggest contributors to the 2020 election
cycle, <strong><span
style="font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"">half</span></strong>
lobby on behalf of at least one of the four Big Tech companies.
Together, just these five lobbyists contributed <strong><span
style="font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"">over
$2 million</span></strong> to the 2020 elections.</li>
<li class="MsoNormal"
style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;mso-list:l0
level1 lfo1">Nearly all <strong><span
style="font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"">(94%)</span></strong>
members of Congress with jurisdiction over privacy and antitrust
issues have received money from a Big Tech corporate PAC or
lobbyist. In total, just in 2020, Big Tech PACs and lobbyists
have <strong><span
style="font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"">contributed
about $3.2 million </span></strong>to lawmakers tasked with
regulating them.</li>
</ul>
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