Google spent $5.93 million on lobbying

Google spent the most it ever has in a single quarter trying to influence elected officials in Washington, according to lobbying disclosures made public late Thursday. The past three months also have seen record spending on lobbying by several other major tech companies, including Amazon, Apple and Uber.

Google Inc., according to the disclosure forms, spent $5.93 million between April 1 and June 30, more than any other corporation in the second quarter. That’s about 40 percent more than it had spent during the same period last year. The only three entities that doled out more money were large business organizations: the U.S. Chamber of Commerce ($11.68 million), the National Association of Realtors ($10.92 million), and Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America ($6 million).

Since the 2016 election, the tech industry has had to navigate not only a Republicancontrolled Congress, but an administration whose decisions have often cut against Silicon Valley’s business interests and largely progressive outlook.

“Some tech companies have only existed in a world when a president has largely aligned with them,” said Julie Samuels, the executive director of Tech: NYC, a group that represents New York-based tech firms. “So a lot of people are grappling with how to live in a space where there is tension there.”

Google’s record-breaking lobbying efforts come as it faces A $2.7 billion fine the European Union has ever levied against a company for abusing its dominant market position.

In recent months, some in Washington have called for increased scrutiny of tech’s dominant platforms. Google lobbied both chambers of Congress and the White House. Among the issues lobbied for were: “legislative responses” to the president’s travel ban, high-skilled immigration, education, U.S. and international antitrust law, Federal Communications Commission’s privacy regulations, and freedom of expression.