Google spent $1.2M in 3Q lobbying. Google Inc. spent $1.2 million during the third quarter trying to make its points with federal lawmakers and regulators on a wide range of issues that included Internet privacy, copyrights and its proposed acquisition of an online travel technology service. The lobbying spending in July through September that is detailed in a filing late Wednesday represented an 11 percent increase from the same period last year.
It was the fifth consecutive quarter Google spent more than $1 million on political persuasion. Google has been steadily increasing its lobbying budget in recent years as its ambitions have expanded beyond dominating Internet search. The company has made various investments in alternative energy, for example, and that's one of the topics its lobbyists discussed with members of House of Representatives in the third quarter. Most of Google's lobbying remains focused on issues that come up in its main business of processing search results and selling online ads. FB & Google Spent Record Amounts On Lobbying In Q3 2011. Each quarter, Facebook and Google continue to spend more and more on lobbying efforts in Washington D.C. As evidenced by the most recent disclosure reports filed in the U.S.
Senate’s lobbying database, both of the companies hit all time highs in terms of lobbying dollars. Google’s lobbying spend hit an all-time high again this quarter, with spending coming in at $2.38 million, nearly doubling its spend from the same period a year ago. Last quarter, Google spent $2.08 million on lawmakers. The search giant spent a total of $5.2 million in lobbying last year, and with this quarter’s tally has already passed last year’s spend with $5.8 million in the first three quarters of 2011. Former CEO and current Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt has been spending more time in the Beltway, helping with government relations, and with the anti-trust probe. Patents are another major issued for Google, and over the past year have become a significant issue for the company. Google and Facebook splurge on lobbying in Q2. Google and Facebook have both been spending significantly more money in Washington during Q2 of 2011 than the two companies spent last year.
The increase in Google’s spending comes at a time when the search giant’s business practices are being scrutinized by the Federal Trade Commission. According to recently filed disclosure documents, Google has spent more than $2 million on lobbying from April to June, which is a 54% increase from last year’s $1.34 million in Q2. For the entire year of 2010 Google spent $5.16 million on lobbying, and the search engine is easily more than half way to 2010′s expenses in the first two quarters. This year’s increased spending marks the first time Google has surpassed Microsoft’s budget for lobbying policymakers. Microsoft reported expenditures of $1.852 million in this second quarter, only slightly higher than the $1.850 million spent in last year’s second quarter. Google nearly doubles lobbying spending in 2011, tops Microsoft | Digital Media. Google nearly doubled its federal lobbying expenditures last year, surpassing rival Microsoft in dollars doled out to persuade legislators to consider its policy positions.
The Web giant spent $9.68 million in 2011 on federal lobbying, an 88 percent jump from 2010, according to filings late last week with the United States Senate Office of Public Records. Microsoft's federal lobbying hit $7.34 million last year, a 6 percent gain. Neither company immediately responded to queries about their lobbying spending. The increase in Google's spending came during a year when regulators and lawmakers ratcheted up investigations of the company's strategies and tactics.
In September, the Senate Judiciary Committee's antitrust subcommittee held hearings looking into questions about Google abusing its power in online search . In August, the company paid $500 million to settle claims with the Justice Department over accepting ads from rogue online Canadian pharmacies in violation of federal law. Google spent $16.5 million on lobbying as it fended off antitrust probe. The Federal Trade Commission closed its nearly two-year investigation into Google earlier this month.
The commission decided to take no action on the most significant issue in the case: whether Google manipulates its search results to ensure that its own services appear above the products of rivals. Google's competitors, including Microsoft, argued that the government should step in to prevent Google from using its dominant search engine to kill off competition in other markets. Google said it designed its search engine to provide users with the best results. Microsoft spent $8.09 million on lobbying in 2012 and $2.43 million in the fourth quarter. Microsoft disclosed that in addition to competition issues, it lobbied on cybersecurity, high-skilled immigration, email privacy legislation and other issues.
Another top policy issue for Google is online privacy. Google also lobbied on immigration, education, cloud computing, tax issues and "autonomous vehicle technology. "