Meta outspends Big Tech peers on lobbying again
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Meta again topped Big Tech in federal lobbying, boosting its spending in Q4 2025 to $6.5 million from $5.8 million in the prior quarter.
Why it matters: Meta continues to flood Washington with money to try to advance its wide portfolio of interests, especially as it races to compete on AI.
- Meta now has roughly one lobbyist for every six members of Congress, according to an analysis by nonprofit Issue One.
Between the lines: Per federal lobbying disclosures, Meta lobbied on bills last quarter focused on kids' online safety, AI regulation and AI chip exports, among others.
- Meta still has plenty of battles to fight, even as it largely benefits from President Trump's pro-AI stance.
- The Federal Trade Commission said Tuesday that it would appeal Meta's win in the long-running WhatsApp and Instagram monopoly case.
Meta, Amazon and Google were the biggest tech lobbying spenders again in Q4, at $6.5 million, $4.6 million and $3.4 million, respectively.
- Google, which just hired a new top lobbyist, lobbied specifically on at least a dozen federal AI and kids' online safety bills.
Apple and Microsoft spent $2.7 million and $2.4 million in Q4, respectively, while ByteDance spent $1.7 million.
- Apple zoomed in on patents, AI, and copyright along with kids' online safety and App Store bills.
What we're watching: AI companies still don't spend nearly as much on federal lobbying as companies like Google, Meta, Apple and Amazon — and several pulled back in Q4.
- Nvidia dropped its lobbying spend from $1.9 million in Q3 2025 to $1.4 million in Q4.
- OpenAI spent $890,000 in Q4 compared to the previous quarter's $920,000.
- Anthropic hit $1 million in Q3 2025, but tapped out at $840,000 in Q4.
