Nov 14, 2017 - Technology

Facebook grows its lobbying army as it faces Russia probes

David McCabe

Facebook General Counsel Colin Stretch testifies before the Senate Intelligence Committee. Photo: Jacquelyn Martin / AP

Facebook hired the former top aide to a lawmaker investigating how Russians may have used its platform to subvert the 2016 election to lobby on its behalf last month, according to a disclosure posted last Friday.

Why it matters: Facebook is bolstering its forces in Washington amid unprecedented investigations into the power of its platform and a new bill that would create new disclosure requirements for online political ads.

The details:

Facebook hired Luke Albee to lobby on, among other issues, "election integrity," per the form. Albee served as chief of staff to Sen. Mark Warner, now the top Democrat on the Intelligence Committee and an outspoken critic of Facebook's role in the 2016 election, from 2008 until 2015. The form says he was brought on just days before Warner grilled Facebook's top lawyer at his panel's hearing on the Russia issue. Warner is also a primary sponsor of the online ad disclosure bill.
It has also hired David Wade, a former top staffer for John Kerry, to work on a "congressional investigation," according to another disclosure posted on Friday. Axios first reported the company was working with Wade's firm in early October. Facebook declined to comment on both registrations.

Go deeper: Twitter also recently hired a lobbying firm to work on issues "related [to Russia's] use of social media platforms regarding the 2016 election."

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Facebook grows its lobbying army as it faces Russia probes

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