But how are they spending all that money? vpnMentor recently analysed all of the lobbying reports submitted by the big 5 tech firms to find out. Here’s what we discovered.
Privacy, Health Data and Government Surveillance
The most frequently occurring word across all reports submitted by the big 5 is ‘privacy’, mentioned 3,240 times across 1,323 reports (out of the 2,753 submitted since 2005). The next most mentioned word across all of their lobbying reports is ‘tax’ with 2,463 mentions in 1,123 reports. The next 3 words in order are ‘online’ ‘data’ and ‘security’.
Google specifically highlights location privacy in 8 of its reports. And health data has become an important issue for Apple and Google. With the advent of wearable tech, both companies started lobbying laws related to the usage of consumer health data in 2014, and it’s listed in 10% of Apple’s reports. As Facebook frequently find themselves subject to data requests from the NSA, they’re keen to influence relevant laws, with 10% of the company’s lobbying reports mentioning ‘Government surveillance’.
Data Breaches and Cyber-Security
Tax, Competition and Barriers to Trade
Due to the size of these large tech companies, they are occasionally subject to accusations that they represent monopolies in their respective markets. And politicians have at times called for the organisations to be broken up. In light of this, it’s understandable they would be keen to weigh in on competition laws. Google seem the most concerned with 47% of their reports (364 out of 782) making reference to competition as a key issue. Microsoft are next in line on the competition battleground, with 24% of their reports (270 out of 1105) also listing competition.
Apple detail laws related to competition in 17% of their submissions. But perhaps more tellingly, it’s the only organisation to detail ‘technical barriers to trade’ in their lobbying reports, doing so in 21% of their submissions. This is likely due to the fact that the iOS App Store is seen as a closed ecosystem, not allowing users to purchase apps via third party platforms, an advantage the company are keen to protect.
Patents and Copyright
Copyright laws feature in 40% of Google’s reports, while Apple is next closest, detailing the issue in 25% of its reports.
Broader Social Issues:
Freedom of Expression, Net Neutrality and Immigration
The influence of these large companies expands beyond merely protecting their profitability and the right to use consumer data. Both Facebook and Google have been criticised as their platforms can amplify fake news and hate speech. As a potential consequence of this, they are the only two of the big 5 tech firms mentioning laws related to freedom of expression in their lobbying efforts. 24% of Facebook’s reports and 10% of Google’s list ‘freedom of expression’ as an issue of interest.
Big Issues for the Future:
Drones, A.I and Driverless Cars
While privacy might be the number one issue today, the future legal battlegrounds will be the roads (with driverless cars) airspace (for drones) and the rise of the machines (with the growth of artificial intelligence).
Although each lobbying report can (and often does) have multiple issues listed under the same dollar value, the above still gives some indication of the relative importance of drone laws to the different companies. And they’re not only influencing our work, entertainment and social lives, they’re also working in the background, using their financial wealth and political power to influence the laws of the land. Privacy and data security are two of the hottest political issues today. And whatever the big technological issues of the future - whether it’s health data, location data, unmanned vehicles, freedom of expression, artificial intelligence or more - you can be sure these companies will be wielding their influence to shape the rules for all. You can read the full report here. Picture Credits: Jeff Bezos by Steve Jurvetson used under CC BY 2.0 /Cropped and/or resized and properties adjusted Larry Page by Bob Lee used under license CC BY 2.0 /Cropped and/or resized and properties adjusted Mark Zuckerberg by TechCrunch used under CC BY 2.0 /Cropped and/or resized and properties adjusted Bill Gates by Kuhlmann /MSC used under CC BY 3.0 DE /Cropped and/or resized and properties adjusted US Capitol Building by Martin Falbisoner (1978–) used under CC BY-SA 3.0 /Cropped and/or resized and properties adjusted
