Washington - AllFacebook

Facebook Ramped Up Lobbying By 314 Percent In 4Q

Justin Lafferty — Wed, 23 Jan 2013 20:14:33 +0000

Facebook is increasingly becoming a player in Washington, D.C., and not just because of social media’s influence on politics. MarketWatch reported Wednesday that Facebook spent $1.4 million on lobbying in the fiscal fourth quarter — a 314 percent increase from what it sent to politicians during the same time period in 2011.

continued…

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

In Washington State, You Can Register To Vote Through Facebook

Justin Lafferty — Tue, 17 Jul 2012 16:09:40 +0000

Facebook pages love polls. You can vote for which slugger will win the Major League Baseball Home Run Derby, or say whether or not you expect to get lucky on Valentine’s Day. Could the day be far off when you can vote for a president through Facebook? Washington state may have taken the first step, as the government will soon allow Evergreen State residents to register to vote in this year’s election.

continued…

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

UPDATE: Facebook Spent A Record $1.35 Million Lobbying During 2011

Jennifer Moire — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 20:13:06 +0000

Facebook is adding lots of new friends in Washington, D.C., if the company’s fourth quarter lobbying report is any indication.

Marking a Facebook first, the company’s lobbying budget broke through the million dollar ceiling last year based on the fourth quarter reports filed recently.

While the final 2011 lobbying figures will be reported later this month, estimates put the last year’s lobbying budget at $1.35 million.

Papers filed with the U.S. government Friday reveal that Facebook spent $440,000 on lobbying in the last quarter of 2011, up 30 percent from the same period a year ago and a whopping 85 percent increase over the $38,117 spent in 2009.

Facebook’s fourth-quarter lobbying budget was the most the company spent in any reporting period last year.

However, Facebook’s lobbying budget is still dwarfed by the amount spent by other major Internet and technology companies.

In comparison, Google spent $3.76 million in the last quarter of 2011.

The increased outreach to policymakers appears to be an industry trend.

Most tech companies — actually most companies and industry trade associations — saw a marked increase in their lobbying budgets in the fourth quarter of 2011 over the same period last year.

One reason could be the business community’s increased confidence in the economy.

Employment figures have been slowly ticking upward. And Congress is generally more active in the year before a presidential election.

It will be interesting to see if Facebook’s federal lobbying budget holds steady or grows in 2012. While the federal government — Congress, the White House and various agencies — will continue to work on issues like privacy, the real action this year will be in the presidential and congressional races, as well as local and state races.

So, how did Facebook spend a cool million in the nation’s capital?

Facebook may have laid the groundwork in 2011 for their recent victory against the Stop Online Piracy Act.

And the social network recently reached a much publicized deal with the Federal Trade Commission over the privacy of consumer data.

The social network also expanded its Washington D.C. office last year, adding top political talent. Additional staff generally portends more activity, and Facebook has been active on several fronts in 2011. The company participated in the recent Hackathon on Capitol Hill and Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg met with lawmakers to discuss small business issues.

Facebook’s filing states that its representatives met with members of Congress as well as federal agencies, including the U.S. Trade Representative’s office, the U.S. Department of Commerce and the U.S. Department of State, to name a few.

Topping the list of issues Facebook lobbied on were privacy, online security and safety. Specifically, the company names the Child Online Protection Act, mobile Internet access issues, the Commercial Privacy Bill of Rights and the Do-Not-Track Online Act, as well as the Irish Data Protection Act.

Members of Congress are using Facebook in different ways –from buying ads to conducting town halls – -as a vehicle to boost engagement with constituents and expand their support online. Facebook is still a relatively new platform on Capitol Hill, and the social network plans to educate lawmakers about how best to use the technology.

Update: A Facebook spokesman shared this statement with us via email:

This increase represents a continuation of our efforts to explain how our service works as well as the important actions we take to protect people who use our service and promote the value of innovation to our economy.

Do you think Facebook should be spending increased amounts of money on federal lobbying?

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Facebook Marks Veterans Day Early With 3 New Services

Jennifer Moire — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 10:55:22 +0000

Three days before Veterans Day, Facebook is already honoring the holiday with a livestreamed event announcing three ways that the military and their families can best use the social channel to connect and communicate during long deployments.

continued…

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Facebook Hired 3 Lobbyist Firms That Prefer Face Time

Jennifer Moire — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 13:35:47 +0000

Facebook’s second quarter federal lobbying disclosures revealed more than just the $550,000 the company spent lobbying in the first half of the year.

continued…

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Washington Congressman Holds Facebook Town Hall

Jennifer Moire — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 16:25:17 +0000

Representative Jim McDermott, a Democrat hailing from Washington state’s seventh congressional district, held his first Facebook town hall this week.

continued…

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Celebrate Bastille Day In The U.S. Via Facebook

Jennifer Moire — Thu, 14 Jul 2011 18:01:46 +0000

Vive La France! If you can’t make it to Paris for the annual July 14 festivities, Facebook is a good guide for celebrations around the U.S.
continued…

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Facebook Leases Larger DC Office

Meredith Singer — Mon, 06 Dec 2010 16:19:45 +0000

Last week we told you that Facebook was trying to fill more seats in their Washington D.C. office, where currently they have six on their government relations staff.
continued…

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.