Big Tech’s soft corruption of American politics

Big Tech companies spend over $100 million annually in direct lobbying, eclipsing other industry groups. This does not count what they spend on indirect lobbying, which has much looser disclosure requirements but is likely comparable.

This latter category includes typical contributions to nonprofit groups, as well as hiring PR firms and consultants to advance Big Tech’s talking points and advocacy agenda through third parties.

As the Podesta Group framed it for their clients:

Most think tanks seek out partnerships with the private sector and foreign governments in order to fund existing work streams or to dream up new ones….When it comes down to it, any major legislation that moves in Washington has been debated, reported on or even written by think tanks. And those with any sort of policy agenda that aren’t playing in the think tank space are missing a key component of a successful Washington strategy.

This “soft corruption” entails writing big checks to nonprofits, taking think tankers out to fancy junkets with accommodations at the Four Seasons, giving them lucrative consulting gigs, and paying political influencers to put their names on Op-Eds written by PR firms.

While this sometimes works to advance legitimate points, just as often its effect is to create noise and spread disinformation to undermine and capture the policy process. This barrage of influence spending enables Big Tech to capture the regulatory process and skirt law enforcement efforts, undermining the American political system and the rule of law.