Google Now Spends More on Lobbying Than Lockheed Martin

[onehandle]

Source: The Atlantic Wire

Google might actually be fulfilling Julian Assange's nightmares and turning into the Lockheed Martin of 21st century lobbying, having spent more than the military defense company on pushing issues in 2012, with a record $18.2 billion that made it the eighth largest lobbyist in DC. "The company that once had no use for Washington," as The New York Times's Edward Wyett puts it in a profile of Google's chief Washington lobbyist Susan Molinari, has a newfound use for lawmakers, not only as it battles anti-trusts suits with money, but also as chairman Eric Schmidt embarks on his new hobby as a part-time ambassador.

"What Lockheed Martin was to the 20th century," Schmidt and Jared Cohen wrote in their book The New Digital Age, "technology and cybersecurity companies will be to the 21st." That's a vision of the future highlighted over the weekend by Assange, another digital futurist, in a blistering Times op-ed as "an expertly banalized version of tomorrow's world." Google's vision also, appropriately, includes making the right connections in the nation's capital.

So far the fruits of Google's lobbying efforts have resulted in a huge win in an anti-trust case, but the company has even bigger plans to prod legislation in its own self-interest. See, back in 2010 Schmidt realized "much of the laws are written by lobbyists," he said during The Atlantic's Washington Idea's Forum. Google hired and funded an army of capable policy crafters, not only to save itself from government fines that don't even make a dent but also to help write Google-powered legislation.

Whether you fall on the Schmidt or Assange side of that future, Schmidt has one big advantage: lots and lots of money. That, along with the right people to peddle his views in DC, means our Google overlords are more powerful than ever before.

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/google-now-spends-more-lobbying-lockheed-martin-150653583.html

[SpankMe]

1. "Don't be evil," indeed. n/t

[tridim]

2. Google makes products everyone uses, Lockeed makes mass-death machines. There is a huge difference.

Obviously companies like Google are going to lobby congress. Why is The Atlantic Wire so surprised?

[savalez]

4. Google is Apple's biggest threat.

These posts are designed to skew public scrutiny away from Apple. DU has resident Fanbois. Probably stock holders. Keep watching. You'll see a pattern before long.

[leftstreet]

3. Google sucks

It used to be great. But now its search functions are so narrow and manipulated, you can't find a fucking thing you're looking for

[Quantess]

7. What search engine(s) do you recommend?

I agree, google has started to get on my nerves ever since it started second guessing me whenever I type what I want to search for.

[Xithras]

5. Many of the things they fight for are things most here would agree with.

Things like tightening up laws to block the governments ability to snoop on your email and web browsing habits without a warrant. Or the recent huge fight that stopped SOPA in its tracks. Or getting patent laws modified so that you can't claim millions of dollars worth of damages over a rounded corner or bouncy screen, and to stop patent trolls in their tracks. These are things that most privacy activists and techies have been fighting for since the 90's. The EFF has only had marginal success in those wars, and if Google can do a better job with their billions of dollars and armies of lobbyists, then more power to them.

[silvershadow]

6. That's good. I would imagine their lobbying needs are great, their military industrial needs, eh,

not so much.

[srican69]

8. I don't hate google ... yet.

so my reaction to the article is .. Meh!