Google dominates Internet lobbying, shelling out $4.62M

Google doled out most money of any Internet company to lobby the federal government in the second quarter of the year, though Amazon and Facebook bumped up their spending as well.

Google, which usually ranks in the top 10 for Washington lobbying among all industries, spent $4.62 million on lobbying last quarter, a drop from this time last year, when it had spent just over $5 million. 

{mosads}In April, the search giant posted its largest lobbying quarter ever with a $5.47 million tally. But that was amended down $370,000 a week later.  

But that was still millions more than Facebook, which spent $2.62 million in the second quarter. Still, that’s the second-highest amount that Facebook has ever spent on lobbying over a three-month span, trailing only the $2.78 million it spent in the first quarter of 2014.

Facebook employe multiple lobbyists dedicated to specific areas like patent reform, cybersecurity, immigration, surveillance, Internet privacy, and trade, according to disclosure forms. 

Amazon posted a $2.15 million second quarter — the first time it has spent more than $2 million in a quarter and a $1 million bump from this time last year. 

It lobbied in many of the same areas as Facebook, with its largest focus on tax reform related to digital goods and remote sales. 

Microsoft spent $2.24 million, while Yahoo posted a $730,000 second quarter. Netflix spent $330,000, eBay spent $358,000.

The nonprofit ICANN, which is leading the U.S. government’s transition away from oversight of the Internet domain name system, spent $200,000 on lobbying.