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I wouldn't say "new". This has been a thing for decades. While the companies who are the top spenders may have changed, Silicon Valley tech as a whole has been

by boh 2y ago

I wouldn't say "new". This has been a thing for decades. While the companies who are the top spenders may have changed, Silicon Valley tech as a whole has been pretty aggressively represented for some time.

Eumenes 2y ago
My thoughts exactly. This article calls out crypto but tech lobbying has a much longer history with Amazon, Google, and Meta. I view crypto as an extension of the financial services industry at this point (look at the boards and execs of these companies; they are more finance than tech), which obviously is the king of financing campaigns.
- alephnerd 2y ago
  And the corporation that owns the The New Yorker (Condé Nast) is a notorious lobbyist in both the US and EU around AI Regulations and AdTech. Goes to show that most political op-eds are just entertainment.
marcosdumay 2y ago
A bit more than a decade. A while ago software companies where taking every kind of abuse from the US government, coming from well represented entertainment, finance, and all kinds of other industries. This suddenly stopped when they started to lobby.
MangoCoffee 2y ago
Microsoft intensified its lobbying efforts when it faced scrutiny for bundling IE with Windows. Similarly, Facebook, Google, Apple, and others have increased their lobbying over the years. As you pointed out, this is nothing new. When companies or entire industries feel threatened, they ramp up lobbying – even Huawei hired Tony Podesta to advocate for them. Hillary Clinton's call to repeal Section 230 for stricter social media regulation will likely prompt tech companies to boost their lobbying efforts. Sooner or later, companies in emerging industries will start lobbying to protect their interests or advance their agendas. https://www.politico.com/news/2021/07/23/huawei-hires-tony-podesta-500649 https://www.politico.com/news/2021/07/23/huawei-hires-tony-p...
alephnerd 2y ago
Yep! For example, the EFF was notably supported by Google back when Google was taking on Microsoft, the ITIF has been active for decades, and the Obama admin was notorious for being overrepresented by Google leadership. Ain't no point adding morality to lobbying - it's just what it is.

by boh 2y ago

Eumenes 2y ago

My thoughts exactly. This article calls out crypto but tech lobbying has a much longer history with Amazon, Google, and Meta. I view crypto as an extension of the financial services industry at this point (look at the boards and execs of these companies; they are more finance than tech), which obviously is the king of financing campaigns.

alephnerd 2y ago
And the corporation that owns the The New Yorker (Condé Nast) is a notorious lobbyist in both the US and EU around AI Regulations and AdTech. Goes to show that most political op-eds are just entertainment.

marcosdumay 2y ago

A bit more than a decade. A while ago software companies where taking every kind of abuse from the US government, coming from well represented entertainment, finance, and all kinds of other industries. This suddenly stopped when they started to lobby.

MangoCoffee 2y ago

Microsoft intensified its lobbying efforts when it faced scrutiny for bundling IE with Windows. Similarly, Facebook, Google, Apple, and others have increased their lobbying over the years. As you pointed out, this is nothing new. When companies or entire industries feel threatened, they ramp up lobbying – even Huawei hired Tony Podesta to advocate for them. Hillary Clinton's call to repeal Section 230 for stricter social media regulation will likely prompt tech companies to boost their lobbying efforts. Sooner or later, companies in emerging industries will start lobbying to protect their interests or advance their agendas. https://www.politico.com/news/2021/07/23/huawei-hires-tony-podesta-500649 https://www.politico.com/news/2021/07/23/huawei-hires-tony-p...

alephnerd 2y ago

Yep! For example, the EFF was notably supported by Google back when Google was taking on Microsoft, the ITIF has been active for decades, and the Obama admin was notorious for being overrepresented by Google leadership. Ain't no point adding morality to lobbying - it's just what it is.