Google Sets New Lobbying Spending Record - Research Group

A research group said that Google set a company record after spending $5.47 million on federal lobbying in the first three months of 2015.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Google set a company record after spending $5.47 million on federal lobbying in the first three months of 2015, a research group said Tuesday.

The amount is higher than any the company has spent in the first quarter of any year and falls just short of the record $5.5 million Google paid out in the second quarter of 2014, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.

The announcement comes just days after the European Commission (EC) launched antitrust proceedings against Google alleging the company has abused its dominant market position for general search services in Europe.

The EC statement of objections said that Google systematically favoured its own comparison shopping service in its search result, while a separate investigation was opened into the company's mobile operating system Android.

Google spent $16.83 million on lobbying in 2014, a 20 percent increase from the previous year, to become the top tech lobbying spender in the United States, according to the Consumer Watchdog non-profit group.

Lobbying in the United States comprises a wide range of activities including hiring lawyers to argue for specific legislation in decision-making bodies.