Illustration: Natalie Peeples/Axios
Technology companies continued to spend millions on federal lobbying in the third quarter of 2023, with companies across many sectors spending big on artificial intelligence, per federal filings.
Why it matters: AI is driving a new wave of lobbying in D.C., with groups ranging from performing artists to major food and beverage distributors signing on with firms as they reckon with how AI is going to change their industries.
- The biggest tech companies still shell out big in Washington, though some have tempered their spend compared with past years.
The big picture: Congressional deadlock due to the drawn-out House speaker race and a near-government shutdown means less lobbying on major spending bills and an overall sense that individual policy bills aren't going to move.
- Still, tech companies continue to lobby on legislation that would impact their business models.
- Those include bills on privacy, content moderation, kids' online safety, elections and misinformation, journalism and media, tax, competition, trade and encryption.
By the numbers: In Q3 2023, Meta and Amazon remained at the top of Washington spenders while Google and Apple kept it steady. X, formerly Twitter, spent only $160,000.
- Meta: $5.1M
- Amazon: $4.3M
- ByteDance: $3.8M, a record high for the TikTok owner
- Oracle: $3.2M
- Google: $3M
- Microsoft: $2.3M
- Apple: $1.8M
- IBM: $1.6M
The intrigue: Dozens of companies signed on — or kept services — with lobbying firms to talk AI with lawmakers. Some notable filings:
- Major VC firm Andreessen Horowitz, whose founder Marc Andreessen has been vocal about his opposition to AI regulation, spent $120,000 last quarter, including on AI, registering to lobby for the first time.
- The Recording Industry Association of America spent $1.5M, including on "policies impacting the use of [AI] for creative works," per its filing.
- AARP spent $3.9M last quarter, including on the topic of "age discrimination in hiring through AI."
- Other groups that listed AI in their lobbying disclosures include major league soccer, baseball, football, basketball and hockey; along with Coca-Cola and Nike.
AI focus: AI-specific companies are spending steadily this year, but their numbers pale in comparison with Big Tech counterparts.
- ScaleAI spent $200,000 last quarter, up from $150,000 in Q2. Anthropic, registered to lobby for the first time this year, spent at least $50,000.
- C3.AI spent $60,000 last quarter; Adobe spent $340,000.
- This summer, Anthropic, Google, Microsoft and OpenAI launched a group called the Frontier Model Forum specifically to engage with governments on AI policy. That group does not plan to lobby, per Reuters.
