Amazon spent just shy of $5 millionlobbying politicians in the first three months of 2021.Google similarly splashed out on lobbying, to the tune of nearly $3 million.- In both cases, the companies set new personal records for lobbying expenditures.
Amazon and Google broke personal records for lobbying payouts in the first three months of 2021: The two American conglomerates collectively spent $7.5 million on federal lobbying between January 1 and March 31.
Amazon was the heavier spender of the two, according to a Bloomberg report, with $4.8 million spent in the first quarter, while Google spent $2.7 million in the same time.
Both companies are facing increased scrutiny from legislators on a variety of issues.
In Amazon's case, it's getting pushback on everything from labor practices to anticompetitive behavior. With Google, legislators have raised a variety of criticisms - from anticompetitive behavior to its business interests in China.
During a congressional hearing in the summer of 2020, Google CEO
Google's lobbying spending in the first quarter of 2021 was nearly 50% higher than the same time period in 2020, while Amazon's increase was just 11% higher.
Google declined to comment to Insider, while Amazon offered the following statement regarding its lobbying efforts: "Our Washington, D.C., team is focused on ensuring we are advocating on issues that are important to policy makers, our employees and our customers."
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