Apple—Apple and Google coordinated lobbying to defeat California SB 1074 self-preferencing bill in 3-3 tie vote
Apple and Google coordinated lobbying to defeat California SB 1074 (the 'BASED Act'), which would have banned self-preferencing by platforms owned by companies worth over $1 trillion. The bill was killed in a 3-3 tie vote on April 20, 2026. Five trade groups including Chamber of Progress issued coordinated opposition 'within minutes' of introduction. Apple's Senior Director Tim Powderly and Google executive Kent Walker personally lobbied against the bill. Senator Scott Wiener described the opposition as a 'tidal wave' of corporate lobbying. Big Tech spent over $100M killing similar federal legislation in 2022.
Scoring Impact
| Topic | Direction | Relevance | Contribution |
|---|---|---|---|
| Antitrust & Competition | -against | primary | -1.00 |
| Deceptive Lobbying | +toward | secondary | -0.50 |
| Regulatory Capture | +toward | primary | -1.00 |
| Overall incident score = | -0.715 | ||
Score = avg(topic contributions) × significance (high ×1.5) × confidence (0.57)
Evidence (1 signal)
Gadget Review reported Apple and Google coordinated lobbying to defeat California self-preferencing bill
Gadget Review and Bloomberg reported Apple and Google crushed California SB 1074 in a 3-3 tie vote on April 20, 2026. Five trade groups issued coordinated opposition 'within minutes' of introduction. Apple's Tim Powderly and Google's Kent Walker personally lobbied against the bill.