14 DAY TRIAL // Facebook has been spending a lot of money on lobbying, shelling out $2.45 million (€1.9 million) in the first three months alone.
With such a competitive market, each company has to do what it can to make their point known regarding various legislative projects that might cause them harm.
Thus, according to its lobby disclosure form, Facebook has spent nearly $2.5 million (€1.92 million) in the first quarter alone.
The figure is considerably larger than that from 2012’s last trimester, when they allocated $1.4 million (€1.08 million).
The bigger difference is obvious when comparing the spending sheet year over year. In the first quarter of 2012, Facebook spent a mere $650,000 (€500,000), while the total sum spent for last year was $4 million (€3.07 million).
Within a single year, Facebook has reached the same level of investments in this department as bigger companies, such as Microsoft and Google.
Facebook’s lobbyists were keen on making U.S. lawmakers understand their point of view regarding foreign relations and federal law that deal with Internet privacy concerns and child security.
The company is also interested in policies that affect online advertising, the immigration reform, data security and stock-option taxes.
The substantial increase in spending isn’t necessarily out of the ordinary, but it shows the company’s commitment to make friends in high places, namely those who are in charge with important laws concerning Facebook’s area of activity.
Other companies have been just as dedicated, it seems. For instance, Google spent $3.35 million (€2,6 million) on lobbying costs in the same period of time, but it allocated nearly $16.5 million (€12.7 million) for the entire 2012.
Microsoft shelled out a little over $8 million (€6 million) in 2012 and another $2.5 million (€1.92 million) in first quarter of 2013, as CNET points out.