Facebook is now the biggest corporate lobbying spender in the US. How big? The tech titan spent $19.7m on lobbying in 2020, more than twice as much as Big Oil’s Exxon Mobil and Big Tobacco’s Phillip Morris , according to a new report published by Public Citizen.
Lobbying isn’t inherently wrong. Business should have a voice on political issues. But too often it turns into political bribery, giving politicians money in return for favorable legislation and regulation. Facebook claims its mission is “to give people the power to build community and bring the world closer together.” Instead, it facilitates the country’s greatest political divide since the civil war. CEO Mark Zuckerberg has repeatedly failed to take responsibility for Facebook’s role in the increase in extremism, misinformation and hate speech that helped spark the January 6 Capitol riot.