- Technology firms including Alphabet Inc’s (NASDAQ: GOOG) (NASDAQ: GOOGL) Google, and Amazon.Com Inc (NASDAQ: AMZN) spent $2.7 million and $4.8 million on lobbying in the first quarter of 2021 following growing U.S. Congressional antitrust scrutiny, Bloomberg reports.
- Google and Amazon’s lobbying spending rose 49% and 11% year-over-year.
- Google’s lobbying focused on issues ranging from patents and copyright to privacy and consumer protection.
- Google also disclosed lobbying on competition issues in online advertising following antitrust complaints. The Justice Department and a group of states slapped antitrust lawsuits on Google for alleged influencing of internet search results. A Texas lawsuit alleged Google of provoking competition in the digital advertising market.
- Senators Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota and Mike Lee of Utah sought extensive reforms for the tech sector.
- Amazon’s lobbying topics included logistics, cloud computing, and a communications satellite program, reflecting its extensive business interests.
- Interestingly, Facebook Inc (NASDAQ: FB) and Apple Inc’s (NASDAQ: AAPL) lobbying spending declined 9% and 32% to $4.8 million and $1.5 million respectively for the quarter.
- The Federal Trade Commission and multiple state attorneys-general had slapped lawsuits on Facebook last year for allegedly abusing its online dominance through acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp.
- Price action: GOOG shares traded higher by 2.05% at $2,315.50 on the last check Friday.
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