By Olivia Hubert-Allen
The pipeline of money flowing from Silicon Valley to Washington, D.C., continued to grow during the third quarter of 2013, according to figures from the U.S. House of Representatives' clerk's office. Most of the nation's leading tech companies increased their spending on lobbyists year over year.
The industry spent the bulk of their funds lobbying on issues including net neutrality, surveillance reform, immigration, "Do Not Track" legislation and patent-related matters.
Highlights
- Apple had the most notable increase in lobbying spending, at 111 percent over Q3 in 2012. Patents, electronic waste, cyber security and e-books were among the issues they focused on. (Read Apple's filing.)
- Google decreased spending from 2012 to 2013, though the company still spends far more than others in industry. Many of their funds went to online privacy, advertising and data issues. (Read Google's filing.)
- Twitter is the new kid on the block, filing their first ever lobbying disclosure report. The company spent $40,000, which is chump change compared to what others are spending, but they'll be interesting to follow as they move closer to an IPO. (Read Twitter's filing.)
- Facebook increased spending 47 percent, joining the ranks of Google, Microsoft, IBM and Oracle in spending more than $1 million. Mark Zuckerberg has spoken publicly about his support for immigration reform, and the company's lobbyists have been active around the issue in D.C. (Read Facebook's filing.)
| Company | % change | Q3 2013 | Q3 2012 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 47% | $1,440,000 | $980,000 | |
| -19% | $3,370,000 | $4,180,000 | |
| Microsoft | 20% | $2,230,000 | $1,860,000 |
| Amazon | 42% | $780,000 | $550,000 |
| Apple | 111% | $970,000 | $460,000 |
| Cisco Systems | 17% | $890,000 | $760,000 |
| IBM | 16% | $1,180,000 | $1,020,000 |
| Intel | 12% | $980,000 | $878,000 |
| Oracle | -4% | $1,360,000 | $1,410,000 |
| Yahoo | -14% | $630,000 | $730,000 |
| Netflix | 88% | $300,000 | $160,000 |
| $40,000 | No Filing |