Google—Google ramped up lobbying spending to record $17.4M ahead of DOJ antitrust trial, with 87% of lobbyists being former government employees
In 2023, ahead of its landmark DOJ antitrust trial, Google increased federal lobbying spending to a record $17.4 million. Analysis by OpenSecrets found that 87% of Google's registered lobbyists were former government employees, creating extensive revolving-door connections between the tech giant and the agencies regulating it. Google's lobbying army included former officials from DOJ, FTC, FCC, and congressional staff.
Scoring Impact
| Topic | Direction | Relevance | Contribution |
|---|---|---|---|
| Regulatory Capture | +toward | secondary | -0.50 |
| Revolving Door | +toward | primary | -1.00 |
| Overall incident score = | -0.643 | ||
Score = avg(topic contributions) × significance (high ×1.5) × confidence (0.57)
Evidence (1 signal)
OpenSecrets reports Google spent record $17.4M on lobbying with 87% revolving-door lobbyists ahead of antitrust trial
OpenSecrets analysis showed Google ramped federal lobbying spending to $17.4 million in 2023, with 87% of its registered lobbyists being former government employees, ahead of its landmark DOJ antitrust showdown.