US: Google, Amazon, and Facebook all spent record amounts last year lobbying

Google, Amazon, and Facebook spent record amounts to influence the US government in 2018. They poured a combined $48 million into lobbying last year, up 13 percent from 2017, according to Bloomberg.

Amazon.com reported spending $3.7 million in the fourth quarter, bringing its total to $14.2 million for the year, more than the record $12.8 million the company spent in 2017.

Although the online retailer has faced less ire in Washington than Facebook and Google, it’s had its share of criticism, including allegations by Trump that it doesn’t pay its fair share of US Postal Service costs to deliver its packages.

These companies run the risk of antitrust regulationas well as laws that could inhibit their ability to collect data and, by extension, revenue. Google’s, Amazon’s, and Facebook’s lobbying efforts largely go toward market and data regulation issues, according to data from the Center for Responsive Politics.

Industry critics also say some tech companies have grown too big and too powerful, leading to suggestions by politicians and organizations, on the left and the right, that the companies be broken up.