Amassing an army of lobbyists

In the New York Times, Cecilia Kang and Kenneth P. Vogel write about the lobbying efforts being made by Facebook, Amazon, Google, and Apple.

Faced with the growing possibility of antitrust actions and legislation to curb their power, four of the biggest technology companies are amassing an army of lobbyists as they prepare for what could be an epic fight over their futures.

Initially slow to develop a presence in Washington, the tech giants — Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Google — have rapidly built themselves into some of the largest players in the influence and access industry as they confront threats from the Trump administration and both parties on Capitol Hill.

The four companies spent a combined $55 million on lobbying last year, doubling their combined spending of $27.4 million in 2016, and some are spending at a higher rate so far this year, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, which tracks lobbying and political contributions. That puts them on a par with long-established lobbying powerhouses like the defense, automobile and banking industries.

...Ms. Pelosi received nearly $43,000 in total donations for her 2018 re-election campaign from employees and political action committees of Facebook, Amazon and Alphabet, Google’s corporate parent — each of which ranked among her top half-dozen sources of campaign cash.

...It is hard to avoid the increasing prominence of the companies in Washington.

They finance some of the most influential think tanks from across the political spectrum, sometimes making it difficult for critical voices to win funding.

Google and Facebook have provided funding to hundreds of influential trade groups and think tanks across the ideological spectrum, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the American Conservative Union, the Brookings Institution and the Center for American Progress.

Read more here.