After Slow Start, Google Quietly Becomes DC's 8th-Biggest Lobbyist
Source: Ad Age
Google is moving its Washington office closer to Capitol Hill after spending $18.2 million on lobbying, more than Northrop Grumman and enough to rank the technology company as the eighth-biggest advocacy spender.
It's an investment that's already paying off in increased influence. Google has hired lobbyists and boosted political giving on its way to wins at the U.S. Federal Communications Commission and Federal Trade Commission, and it has entrée to the White House where an employee on leave is helping fix the ailing Obamacare website.
"Google has put itself in the position of being heard when they need to be heard," Jeffrey Birnbaum, president of BGR Public Relations, a Washington-based media strategy firm, said in an interview. "Decision makers at least know what Google is thinking and what policies it prefers."
Google passed two Washington power tests when it escaped an FCC probe in 2012 of improper data collection with a $25,000 fine, and the FTC dropped an antitrust probe in January. Now lobbyists for the company are working on protecting its reputation amid revelations about U.S. spying.
Read more: http://adage.com/article/digital/slow-start-google-starts-flexing-dc-lobbying-muscle/245132/
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