Amazon and Meta's annual lobbying costs total more than 4 billion yen, setting a record high

Facebook operators Meta and Amazon broke the annual record of lobbying for both companies, with lobbying costs in the Diet and government exceeding $ 20 million each in 2021. I understand.

Amazon, Meta report record lobbying spending in 2021 | The Hill
https://thehill.com/business-a-lobbying/business-a-lobbying/590788-amazon-meta-report-record-2021-lobbying-spending

Amazon, Meta set lobbying spending records in 2021 as Apple's decreased | AppleInsider
https://appleinsider.com/articles/22/01/21/amazon-meta-set-lobbying-spending-records-in-2021-as-apples-decreased

According to a document submitted to the U.S. Congress on January 20, 2022, Amazon and its subsidiaries budgeted about $ 20.30 million for lobbying in 2021, and Meta It was 2010 million dollars (2.28 billion yen). This amount was about 7% higher than the lobbying costs spent by both companies in 2020, both record highs.

It turns out that Facebook and Amazon are investing more than 2 billion yen in lobbying activities, what is the actual situation of lobbying activities by Big Tech? --GIGAZINE

The US Congress is currently discussing the 'American Innovation and Choice Online Act,' which bans preferential treatment of its products on the platform, and lobbying costs. The increase in the number of people is believed to reflect the increased movement toward the revision and abolition of this law. The law passed the Senate Judiciary Committee on January 20, but some lawmakers have stated that they 'support making industry-oriented changes to the final version.'

According to a survey by the political funding research organization Open Secrets, Amazon and Meta are among the top two companies that spend the most money on lobbying as individual companies. The two companies are reported to have contracted with dozens of companies specializing in lobbying, sending lobbyists close to Biden's executives and parliamentary leaders into the political arena.

Not only two American companies are spending huge amounts of money on legislative activities. Alphabet, Google's parent company, lobbied in 2021 at a cost of $ 9.6 million. The $ 9.6 million isn't a record high, but it's up 27% from 2020 spending.

Meanwhile, Apple's lobbying costs in 2021 were $ 6.5 million, a slight decrease from $ 6.7 million in 2020. But while the amount is lower than other tech giants, Apple has issued a statement to the bill that 'millions of people will be attacked by malware,' CEO Tim Cook said. We are actively engaged in activities that are comparable to other companies, such as making a direct telephone call to raise concerns.

Apple warns that 'millions of people will be attacked by malware' while a bill to crack down on Apple and Google's monopoly is under consideration-GIGAZINE

by GDS-Productions

Also, in the United States, antitrust bills targeting the App Store are being discussed at the state level, but due to the effect of lobbying activities developed by Apple, Georgia, Arizona, North Dakota, etc. in 2021 alone. Those bills have disappeared in the area of.

Microsoft is showing a slightly different turnaround than the four companies. The company spent $ 10.2 million on lobbying in 2021, surpassing Alphabet and Apple, up about 8.4% from 2020. In 2021, bipartisan lawmakers announced a bill to amend the Antimonopoly Act targeting Google, Apple, Facebook (now Meta), and Amazon, but Microsoft was excluded from the bill. , Succeeded in dodging the pursuit from Congress.

A regulatory bill targeting giant IT companies such as Google, Apple, Facebook, and Amazon is submitted to the US House of Representatives --GIGAZINE