Big Tech Fights Backlash With White House Lobbying Blitz

According to a Bloomberg analysis of Senate disclosures dating back to 2000, lobbying of the White House and its key bureaus by US tech companies has increased steadily, with an acceleration in the past six years. In 2000, only Microsoft, Apple, and Oracle disclosed lobbying then-President Bill Clinton’s White House, including offices potentially representing his closest advisers. Disclosures filed with the government show that, in 2017, lobbyists working for Airbnb, Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Google, Microsoft, Oracle, Twitter,  and Uber Technologies sought to influence parts of the Executive Office of the President -- which includes Trump’s inner circle and key bureaus such as the ATC, the Office of Management and Budget, the Office of Science and Technology Policy and the Council of Economic Advisers. “The biggest tech companies have shifted gears and put a lot resources into lobbying and into the executive branch in particular," said Craig Holman, a government affairs lobbyist for nonprofit Public Citizen.