Facebook, Google, Amazon boost D.C. lobbying

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WASHINGTON — Google and Amazon bolstered their lobbying spending in the past three months as Washington takes a closer look at the market power of some of America’s biggest tech companies.

Facebook spent $2.85 million lobbying the federal government in the third quarter, up 41 percent from the same period last year, according to disclosure reports made public Friday. Part of that amount was dedicated to lobbying officials in Congress and the White House on “online advertising, content and platform transparency efforts.”

The lobbying comes as the social network, along with Google and Twitter, face a new bipartisan push on Capitol Hill that would force internet companies to disclose more information about political ads sold and distributed on their platforms.

Google also increased its spending relative to last year, doling out $4.17 million on lobbying in the third quarter, up 9 percent. In addition to lobbying Congress and the White House on the regulation of online advertising, Google also used its lobbying operation for issues such as Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), President Donald Trump’s travel bans and antitrust law and tax reform.

Amazon spent $3.4 million from July 1 to September 30, up 26 percent from what it spent during the same period last year. Amazon lobbied on issues including DACA, autonomous vehicles and corporate tax reform.