Facebook escalates lobbying spending

Facebook spent more than $2.4 million on lobbying during the first quarter of 2013, a nearly four-fold increase over the company’s influence spending last year, public records show.

That figure puts Facebook on track to beat its previous record for lobbying spending. The company spent just $650,000 on lobbying during the first three months of 2012. In its disclosure form, Facebook said it lobbied on a range of key tech issues, including immigration reform, patent reform, online privacy and taxes. The company also said it lobbied on cybersecurity, including the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA) that passed the House last week despite a veto threat from the White House. The company has publicly stepped up its push for comprehensive immigration reform this year as both the Senate and House work on legislative proposals intended to fix the country's immigration system.