Deceptive Lobbying

New York Times reported senior Anthropic employees discussing ways company could spend money to influence politics, with executives likely donating to new political network helmed by former Rep. Brad Carson (D-OK). As government contractor, Anthropic is legally barred from contributing to political campaigns.

Reuters obtained internal Meta documents showing the company displayed approximately 15 billion 'higher risk' scam advertisements per day, generating an estimated $16 billion annually (10% of revenue). Documents revealed Meta set 'revenue guardrails' limiting fraud enforcement to 0.15% of revenue (~$135M), and executives proposed focusing fraud control only on countries with imminent regulatory action. Internal documents showed Meta was involved in 1 in 3 U.S. frauds. Meta also developed a 'playbook' to manage regulatory perception of scam ads.

Marc Andreessen actively lobbied against the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) while his firm Andreessen Horowitz had over $7 billion in crypto funds under CFPB jurisdiction. On the Joe Rogan podcast in November 2024, he called the CFPB an agency that exists to 'terrorize finance' and prevent fintech competition. The Trump administration subsequently hollowed out the CFPB. ProPublica documented that Andreessen-funded company Dwolla had been sanctioned by the CFPB in 2016 for deceiving consumers about data security.

In November 2024, Marc Andreessen suggested that advertisers who boycotted certain platforms could face criminal charges under the incoming Trump administration. Legal experts noted that the U.S. Supreme Court established in 1982 (NAACP v. Claiborne Hardware) that boycotts are protected expression under the First Amendment. Critics highlighted the contradiction between Andreessen's stated free-market principles and his advocacy for using government power to coerce businesses into advertising decisions.

During federal trial in Lowell v. Lyft wheelchair accessibility lawsuit, former head of Lyft's national WAV program Chris Wu testified that Lyft's policy is to do 'as little as possible unless forced' to serve people with disabilities. Lyft only offers WAV service in 4% of total service areas (9 cities). WAV Program Manager testified she had no professional experience in transportation management, Americans with Disabilities Act, or developing programs for people with disabilities prior to joining Lyft. Budget for WAV services decreasing from 2023 to 2024. Lyft consistently argues it's merely a 'technology company' not subject to ADA, claims it's 'not in the transportation business.' Judge dismissed case September 30, 2024, finding plaintiffs didn't prove proposed accommodations would be effective.

Internal documents obtained by Corporate Europe Observatory October 2023 showed Bolt's EU lobbyist Aurélien Pozzana drafted letter as if written by Estonian government asking Spanish EU Presidency to stick to weaker worker protections. Email to Estonian Deputy General showed meetings with Minister of Economy and Minister of Finance 'went well' and shared draft letter hoping 'Estonian Government could sign and encourage other allied Member States.' Letter written as if drafted by Estonian government, not by Bolt. Reporting caused public outcry in Estonia. Bolt has almost 50 employees working on regulations in lobbying capacity.

Between 2018 and 2023, California Forever's subsidiary Flannery Associates secretly purchased over 50,000 acres of farmland in Solano County for approximately $900 million, becoming the county's largest private landowner. From 2019 to 2023, the company told county officials it only intended to use the land for agricultural purposes including olive farming and long-term farmer leases. The true plan - building a new city of up to 400,000 people - was only revealed when the New York Times exposed the scheme in August 2023. The land's proximity to Travis Air Force Base triggered an Air Force Foreign Investment Risk Review investigation and FBI/CFIUS referrals from Congress.

From 2017 to 2023, Sramek led California Forever's strategy to secretly acquire over 50,000 acres of Solano County farmland through subsidiary Flannery Associates. He personally assured county officials the land would be used for agricultural purposes including olive farming and long-term farmer leases, while planning to build a new city of up to 400,000 people. The deception was only revealed when the New York Times exposed the scheme in August 2023. U.S. Representative John Garamendi described the community as 'very angry - by the secrecy, by the duplicity, by the attack on family farmers.'

From mid-2023 through 2024, Mistral AI conducted an aggressive lobbying campaign against EU AI Act provisions. The campaign was led by co-founder Cédric O, France's former Secretary of State for Digital Affairs, who joined Mistral in spring 2023 and immediately began lobbying his former government colleagues. O's initial €176 investment grew to approximately €23 million while he lobbied for exemptions that would directly benefit the company - a conflict he did not publicly disclose. Meanwhile, Mistral argued that strict regulation would force European companies to partner with US tech giants, while secretly negotiating a deal with Microsoft that was announced in February 2024. The campaign succeeded: the final AI Act gave broad exemptions to open-source models and general-purpose AI, with only minimal transparency obligations. Fundamental rights checks were removed, and foundation model requirements were significantly weakened.

In July 2022, the Guardian published the 'Uber Files' - over 124,000 leaked documents showing how Uber under Kalanick aggressively broke laws, secretly lobbied governments, and exploited violence against drivers to gain public sympathy. The files revealed direct communications from Kalanick directing operations in cities where Uber was operating illegally.

In July 2022, The Guardian and ICIJ published the 'Uber Files' — 124,000+ leaked internal documents revealing how Uber secretly lobbied world leaders including French President Macron, evaded police during raids, and deliberately flouted laws in dozens of countries to force its way into new markets. The documents showed CEO Travis Kalanick personally directed aggressive expansion tactics and that the company treated driver violence as a tool to generate public sympathy for deregulation.

In November 2020, it was revealed that Apple lobbyists worked to weaken the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, proposing to extend compliance deadlines and limit public disclosure requirements. Apple spent $90,000 on lobbying related to the bill. This contradicted Cook's July 2020 congressional testimony where he called forced labor 'abhorrent' and pledged zero tolerance for supply chain abuses.

In November 2020, Uber alongside Lyft, DoorDash, Instacart, and Postmates spent a combined $200+ million to pass California Proposition 22, making it the most expensive ballot measure in California history. Prop 22 created a carve-out from AB5 allowing gig companies to classify drivers as independent contractors rather than employees, denying them full minimum wage guarantees, overtime pay, sick leave, unemployment insurance, and workers' compensation. Uber was the largest single contributor at approximately $57 million.

DoorDash contributed $52.1 million to the Yes on Proposition 22 campaign in 2020, making it the second-largest corporate funder after Uber. The ballot measure, which passed with 59% of the vote, granted app-based delivery and transportation companies an exemption from Assembly Bill 5 by classifying their drivers as independent contractors rather than employees. The total industry spending on Prop 22 reached $205 million, the most ever spent on a California ballot initiative. The campaign included in-app messaging, billboards, digital and print ads, and pro-Prop 22 delivery bags sent to restaurants.

Under Kalanick's leadership, Uber developed and deployed 'Greyball,' a secret software tool that identified and evaded government regulators and law enforcement officials attempting to enforce transportation laws. The tool was used from at least 2014 to 2017 across multiple cities and countries. The DOJ investigated the program.

Uber developed and deployed software tool 'Greyball' from 2014-2017 to identify and deceive law enforcement officers attempting to enforce laws against the service. The tool displayed fake cars that would never arrive when police tried to hail rides. Used in Portland, Las Vegas, Boston, and internationally in China, South Korea, France, Italy, Australia, Belgium, Netherlands, Germany, Spain, and Denmark with knowledge of senior management including CEO Travis Kalanick and Pierre-Dimitri Gore-Coty. US Department of Justice launched criminal investigation in May 2017.