
Apple set a record in its spending on lobbying in this year’s first quarter, with its Q1 outlay of $2.5 million ranking as the most the Silicon Valley giant has ever shelled out to influence Washington in a single three-month period.
Previously, the most that Apple had paid out on lobbying in one quarter was $2.23 million in 2017’s Q2, according to data aggregated by OpenSecrets.org.
The increased spending comes as Apple
AAPL,
-1.49%
and other Big Tech companies face antitrust threats from U.S. lawmakers and regulators, including legislation that aims to promote competition on app stores and a separate bill that seeks to block companies from favoring their services over others.
See: Bills targeting Apple and Google face biggest test yet
Also read: Apple’s hot antitrust autumn: Storm clouds are forming from multiple directions
Even as Apple has boosted its lobbying spending to new heights, the Q1 outlay by CEO Tim Cook’s company, which was disclosed in a filing late Wednesday, came in below the amounts spent during the period by other tech giants.
Facebook parent Meta Platform
FB,
-2.19%
spent at least $5.39 million on lobbying in Q1, and Amazon
AMZN,
-2.29%
shelled out $4.97 million for the period, according to their disclosures that were filed late Wednesday. Microsoft
MSFT,
-1.37%
disclosed paying out $2.54 million to influence Washington in January through March, and Alphabet’s Google business
GOOG,
-3.76%
GOOGL,
-3.76%
reported spending $2.96 million.
Last year, Amazon with its subsidiaries and Facebook’s parent company set fresh records in their annual spending on Washington lobbying, disclosing 2021 outlays of at least $20.3 million and $20.1 million, respectively.
In its Q1 filing, Apple disclosed lobbying on a range of issues, including the bill aimed at app stores, privacy and cybersecurity matters, the Build Back Better Act and competition legislation that targets the chip industry and China.
And: Big Tech is not shaking over fear of antitrust as companies plow ahead with billion-dollar deals
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