When it comes to influencing Washington, Google was at the top of the list of tech companies that spent a combined $61.15 million on lobbying efforts last year.
According to a report from Consumer Watchdog, Google invested $14.06 million of the $61.15 million invested by ten tech firms, including Microsoft, IBM, Facebook and Oracle.
Consumer Watchdog reports last year’s total was a 15.9 percent increase over the $52.78 million spent in 2012 on lobbying efforts by tech firms.
“Policy making in Washington is all about how much money you can throw around,” said Consumer Watchdog’s Privacy Project Director John Simpson, “These tech guys are increasingly willing to spend whatever it takes to buy what they want.”
Following Google, Microsoft increased its spend by 29.7 percent to $10.9 million in 2013. IBM was the third biggest spender, investing $7.06 million last year.
Facebook invested $6.43 million, a 61 percent increase over the social media network’s $3.99 million spent in 2012. Facebook’s 61 percent increase represented the largest growth in lobbying funds of the ten tech firms.
Top Ten Lobbying Investments By Tech Firms in 2013
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