Main PageFacebook spent $ 5.1 million on lobbying in the third quarter
In the third quarter of this year, Facebook spent $ 5.1 million lobbying its interests in Washington. The company was forced to increase its spending after a whistleblower released internal documents, and Facebook faced a string of accusations of misleading the public, investors, Congress and other government departments.
The company's lobbying spending increased 6.7% compared to the second quarter of this year and 3.9% compared to the third quarter of last year. The total surpassed those of other tech giants, including Amazon, Microsoft and Alphabet. Facebook faced a number of problems in Washington: another investigation into the company was opened in Congress - now parliamentarians are planning to pass new legal norms to ensure the privacy of citizens and protect children online.
A former employee of Francis Hagen (Frances Haugen) has published a series of internal documents, Facebook said that the company was aware of the risks that represent a platform for users and society as a whole, but downplayed them in public. Hagen, a former product manager at Facebook, filed a complaint with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), claiming that the company and its management were misleading investors.
US parliamentarians are now preparing yet another antitrust bill that could have serious implications for Facebook's business practices. In addition, the company may have additional questions from the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) regarding the takeovers of Instagram and WhatsApp.
By comparison, Amazon spent $ 4.7 million on lobbying in Q3, slightly less than last quarter. Google increased spending by 24.9% to $ 2.6 million. Microsoft spent the same $ 2.6 million, up 6.5% from the previous quarter.
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