Google is the biggest corporate lobbyist in America now, says new Public Citizen report
Source: PandoDaily
... This morning, a new Public Citizen report, “Mission Creep-y: Google is Quietly Becoming One of the Nation’s Most Powerful Political Forces While Expanding Its Information-Collecting Empire” came across my desk. It doesn’t break news. But it is an exhausting catalog of Google’s powerful information gathering apparatus, its missteps, and its massive social ambition.
When you put the isolated pieces together, it can kind of make you choke on your breakfast.
... As Public Citizen outlines, Google circa 2014 is a completely politicized organization. As a company that makes almost all of its revenue from selling advertisements, the currency that keeps it afloat is detailed information about us. And it has been naked in its pursuit of that and unafraid of protecting its own interest. The Public Citizen report details how Google has spent $18.2 million on federal lobbying in 2014 so far, more than any other company. In this year’s election cycle, Google’s PAC outspent Goldman Sachs.
... Moreover, a revolving door has opened up between Google and the federal government — 81 of its 102 lobbyists hired in 2014 previously held government jobs.
Read more: http://pando.com/2014/11/13/google-is-the-biggest-corporate-lobbyist-in-america-now-says-new-public-citizen-report/