WSJ Report Suggests Intervention In FTC’s Google Investigation By White House
Article asserts Google lobbying affected agency's decision in antitrust case.
Topic: Lobbying in the United States
SearchCap: SSL Ranking Boost, Cortana Compared & Google’s Lobbying Efforts
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Google’s Matt Cutts Explains How Google Search Handles 404 & 410 Status Codes Google’s head of search spam, Matt Cutts, posted a video today explaining the difference in how Google handles […]
Report: Google Now Master Of Lobbying, Backroom Dealing
An article in the Washington Post asserts that Google has now become a master lobbyist and behind-the-scenes manipulator in Washington. It details the company’s increase in campaign contributions and outreach efforts to influence legislators. The message of the lengthy article is that Google is now buying influence and policy outcomes that favor the company. Source: […]
Obama’s Silicon Valley “Tech Supper” – Who Sat Where? Why Was He There?
Why was he there? Who wasn’t invited and why? What did they talk about? Why was he really there?
Watchdog Group Asks Congress To Examine Google’s WiFi Data Collection, Ties To Obama Administration
In a six-page letter to House Oversight Committee leaders, a watchdog group has called on the government to do a “thorough investigation” of both Google’s WiFi data collection and the FTC’s recent decision to end its investigation without penalizing Google. In a blog post announcing the letter (PDF download), Ken Boehm, chairman of the National […]
Google China: Congressional Praise; Microsoft Supports Tyranny & Google Eats Poo Cartoon
The reactions to Google’s partial withdrawal from China continue. Yesterday, there were hearings in the US Congress where representatives showered praise on Google while competitor Microsoft was said to be supporting tyranny. Meanwhile, there is a nice round-ups of reactions from China folks on the web, including a great cartoon of something you never see […]
Google’s Lobbying Spend Up 1,500% Since 2005
Among the major search engines, Microsoft is still the biggest spender when it comes to lobbying politicians, but none are spending lobbying dollars faster than Google. According to the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics, Google’s spend on lobbying has gone from $260,000 in 2005 to more than $4 million in 2009, an increase of more […]
Google’s Influence In The Oval Office
Google’s Clout Grows as Tech Initiatives Take Shape from the Wall Street Journal outlines Google CEO Eric Schmidt’s recent technology meeting with Obama and the new US government. If you missed the news, a group of executives met with President Obama last week to discuss technology’s role in the US stimulus plan. One of those […]
Google Goes To The Inauguration
We’ve covered earlier about Googlers and former Googlers making big donations to Barack Obama’s inauguration. Now Google’s taking it up a notch, throwing its first ever party in for a US president’s inauguration, in conjunction with its YouTube video site and the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights. It’s not a ball. In fact, the invitation […]
Search Biz: MSFT Spends On Lobbyists To Save On Yahoo; Google Book Deal Gets Tentative OK; WSJ Says ‘Extinction’ Threatens Yellow Pages & More
By almost doubling its spending on lobbying, Microsoft managed to kill the Google-Yahoo ad deal and may also have saved itself millions of dollars on a Yahoo buyout. That’s the case made by Declan McCullough today on CNET. McCullough explains that Microsoft spent about $12-$14 million per year on lobbyists between 2005 and 2007, but […]
Google Beefs Up Lobbying Efforts In DC And Among Advertisers To Support Paid Search Deal With Yahoo
An extensive piece in the NY Times from Sunday discusses the behind-the-scenes drama of the Google-Yahoo paid search deal and how Microsoft has worked to derail it. Consumer and advertiser groups have also expressed objections to the potential arrangement. Entitled “Google Learns Lessons in the Ways of Washington,” it further describes how the Mountain View […]
Google Hires In-House Lobbyist To Address A Range Of Issues Before Congress
Anyone who believes that the United States is a truly free market should think again. The US government is in so many instances the gatekeeper or arbiter for the spoils of public assets, such as wireless spectrum. And Google has discovered how central political favor in Washington to its fortunes. In 2005 Google opened an […]
Google Sends Mr. Schmidt To Washington
Google Still Searching For Recognition in D.C. from the Washington Post covers how Google sent CEO Eric Schmidt to Washington yesterday. Schmidt had meetings with several important politicians and decision makers, but the article says Google’s still working to gain respect. The attention Google gets in the technology world and on Wall Street is the […]