Meta has marked its largest lobbying expenditure ever, allocating a record US$7.6 million in the first quarter of 2024 to engage with the US government. This figure represents a significant 64 percent increase from the last quarter of 2023 and accounts for more than a third of what the company spent throughout the previous year.
The considerable rise in Meta's lobbying expenses is attributed mainly to operational costs, including adjustments to the biannual compensation of its lobbying team and an increase in stock prices, according to Meta spokesperson Daniel Roberts. This spike in spending highlights the volume of pending legislation targeting big tech companies, with laws concerning data privacy, online safety for children, and content moderation at the forefront.
Comparative analysis with other tech giants
Meta's expenditure significantly outstripped that of its major tech counterparts. In comparison, Apple, Google, and Microsoft each spent about US$2 to US$3 million in the same period. Amazon was the second-highest spender, with US$4.4 million. This disparity underscores Meta's aggressive approach to influencing policies that could impact its operations and market environment.
Interestingly, Meta's lobbying activities this quarter did not directly address some high-profile legislative developments, such as the new bill potentially banning TikTok unless its parent company, ByteDance, divests it within a year—a move from which Meta could benefit. Daniel Roberts confirmed that Meta did not lobby on the so-called Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act or the foreign aid package in which it was included.
However, Meta was actively involved in lobbying for several other legislative matters, including the Kids Online Safety Act, the Children and Teens Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), and the Protecting Kids on Social Media Act, which proposes age verification for social media usage. Additional areas of focus included the reauthorization of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act and laws related to Section 230, which offers legal liability shields to tech companies. Meta also engaged on issues concerning international data flows, encryption, subsea cables, taxes, and political advertising.
This record-breaking quarter for Meta follows its previous peak in the fourth quarter of 2021, when it spent US$5.4 million amid the fallout from whistleblower Frances Haugen's revelations about the company's knowledge of its services' harmful impacts on teenagers.
