Lobbying Disclosures Reveal Big Investments in Privacy Issues

In fourth quarter lobbying disclosures, social software companies Google and Facebook made heavy investments in privacy issues and cyber security.

Google spent $3.4 million in the quarter in which an Federal Trade Commission decision on its potential antitrust violations was expected, down from $4.2 million the previous quarter. The decision didn’t come until this year. Its efforts were spread across a number of issues, including patents and copyrights, privacy, data security, broadband spectrum and free trade.