politics
Google spent $18M lobbying D.C. in 2012. Apple spent $2M
February 18, 2013: 12:38 PM ETWhile Mountain View stepped up its political efforts, Cupertino cut back
Chart: PED. Source: OpenSecrets.org. Click to enlarge.
FORTUNE -- The last time we looked at Silicon Valley's lobbying efforts, Google (GOOG) was the big spender and Apple (AAPL) the piker. (See For every $1 Google spends lobbying, Apple spends 10¢.)
That hasn't changed much in the past nine months. In fact, Google increased its political spending in 2012 -- a Presidential election year -- by nearly 90%, while Apple reduced its by 13%.
(The biggest percentage increase, by the way, was Facebook's (FB). It upped its D.C. spending nearly 200%, from $1.35 million to just under $4 million.)
Where did Apple spend its $2 million? According to the company's LD-2 disclosure form, the money was spread out pretty thinly over a wide range of issues, among them:
- Taxation (including the repatriation of profits earned overseas)
- Education (including the use of digital textbooks in schools)
- Telecommunications (including open Internet and children protection issues)
- Environment (including electronic waste, Energy Star and EPEAT standards)
- Trade (including free trade and border issues)
- Consumer Issues (including privacy protection and the Do Not Track Me Online Act)
- Investments and the SEC (including implementation of the Dodd-Frank Act)
- Transportation (including the use of technology in cars and airplanes)
- Computer Industry (including cybercrime)
- Appropriations (including government precurement rules)
- Media (including electronic publishing)
- Medical (including the regulation of mobile medical devices)
Thanks to setteb.it's Fabio Zambelli for the link to Apple's LD-2.
Meanwhile, I recommend once again This American Life's Take the Money and Run for Office. It's a fascinating inside look at big-time lobbying that will change the way you look at Washington politicians.
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What Mitt Romney said last night about Apple's Steve Jobs
An excerpt from his acceptance speech, offered in context and without comment
FORTUNE -- The Republican candidate for President mentioned Apple (AAPL) and Steve Jobs in his acceptance speech at the party's convention Thursday night. Here's what he had to say:
When I was 37, I helped start a small company. My partners and I had been working for a company that was in the business of helping other businesses.
So some of MORE
Philip Elmer-DeWitt - Aug 31, 2012 11:43 AM ET -
Free minds, free markets ... free networks?
What does it means to be a libertarian in the digital age? Tim Lee is just the man to ask.
Many computer geeks are also libertarians, so it's not too surprising to hear Tim Lee proudly describe himself as a member of both groups. No, what makes Lee unusual is his passion for figuring out exactly what it means to be both a libertarian and a technophile. What's the best way to MORE
Scott Woolley - Dec 16, 2010 3:00 AM ETPosted in: Cato Institute, Coase Theorem, Libertarian, Libertarianism, politics, Republicans, Ronald Coase, United States -
Google unveils government requests tool
New tool shows which governments pull content and how much from Google's sites.
Google today announced that it was unveiling a tool to increase its transparency when dealing with governments and their takedown requests.
Strangely, China is absent from the results. Maybe China asked for that to be pulled down too.
Seth Weintraub - Apr 21, 2010 5:35 PM ET -
Howard Dean's take on politics and the Internet
Howard Dean may be out of a job soon. "The Internet puts people like politicians out of business," said the former chairman of the Democratic National Party and Governor of Vermont. "Our own government is going to get run over by both the private sector and young people organizing over the Net." But politicos aren't completely out of the Internet loop, and Dean offered several examples of election results shaped MORE
Jessica Shambora, Writer-Reporter - Jul 23, 2009 8:06 AM ET
