Apple Spent $4.1M to Lobby the U.S. Government in 2014, a New Record

[RaduTyrsina]

According to a recent report from Bloomberg.com, it seems that Apple has spent a record $4.1M to lobby the U.S. government in 2014. Federal lobbying disclosures filed this week have revealed that Apple has increased its lobbying operations in recent years.

Apple spent $1.2 million in the fourth quarter of last year which pushed its full-year total over $4 million for the first time ever. Here are some more details:

Apple, which has come under increasing scrutiny as the world’s most valuable company, is becoming more of a regular around Washington. While co-founder Steve Jobs shunned the nation’s capital, Apple lobbied the White House, Congress and 13 departments and agencies from the Food and Drug Administration to the Federal Trade Commission in 2014 through the third quarter, according to OpenSecrets.org. In 2009, Apple lobbied only Congress and six agencies.

The amount that Apple spent in 2014 represents an 18 percent year-over-year increase from the $3.4 million Apple spent in 2013, which also was a record spending. As a matter of fact, until 2006, Apple did not cross the $1 million threshold. Also, when compared to other companies, it continues to spend relatively little on lobbying.

Apple focuses its lobbying efforts on issues directly related to its product lineup, such as consumer health data, safe driving, e-books and data privacy.

Source: Bloomberg