Microsoft and Google battle for influence in the policy shadows

[Commentary] In recent years, a vast shadow army of law firms, public relations specialists, trade organizations, pundits, think tanks and academics has emerged to dominate the debate over Google -- and many of them are paid for their opinions.

The people framing issues of vital interest to us consumers, often seen as dispassionate analysts, are actually paid advocates, distorting our understanding of what's at stake and possibly influencing how regulators around the world are making decisions that affect the future of our daily lives in a Web-connected world. "With official lobbying, they're going in through the front door and trying to sell you an opinion and they're not trying to pretend to be anything but a hired gun," said Sheila Krumholz, executive director of the Center for Responsive Politics. But the bigger universe of commentators who are paid on the side, she continued, "is so amorphous and so differentiated, it's difficult to try to put your hands around it. This is where policy may be unduly skewed by paid interests." Alas, engaging third parties is a time-honored tradition in the Capitol, used by a wide range of industries such as pharmaceuticals, utilities, automakers and cigarette manufacturers. Decades ago, the high-tech industry deplored how these old-line companies played politics. Today, it's working to perfect the method.