As Washington Debates Major Tech and AI Policy Changes, Big Tech’s Lobbying is Relentless

As Congress weighed a sweeping, decades-long ban on state regulations on artificial intelligence (AI) — a move heavily backed by Big Tech — the industry’s biggest players poured record-breaking sums into lobbying during the first half of 2025, according to an Issue One analysis of newly filed federal reports. Eight of the largest tech, AI, and social media companies spent a combined $36 million on federal lobbying during the first half of 2025 — an average of roughly $320,000 per day that Congress has been in session. 

These figures includes spending by:

• Alphabet, the parent company of Google and YouTube
• ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok
• Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram
• Microsoft
• Nvidia, one of the leading suppliers of artificial intelligence (AI) hardware and software
• OpenAI, the company behind the popular AI tool ChatGPT
• Snap, the parent company of Snapchat
• X, formerly known as Twitter

During the second quarter, Big Tech tried to cash in on years of lobbying by pushing a provision in President Donald Trump’s sweeping spending bill that would have stripped states of the power to regulate AI and social media algorithms for the next 10 years. States faced a stark choice: abandon their regulatory authority or forfeit crucial broadband funding.

While the moratorium provision was ultimately stripped from the final legislation — thanks to pushback from civil society groups and key lawmakers — the episode underscored Big Tech’s escalating political muscle.

“Once again, we see tech giants spending vast sums to buy influence in Washington and drive an agenda that Americans on both sides of the aisle reject,” said Issue One Vice President of Advocacy Alix Fraser. “The tech industry has grown more audacious — even trying to ask Congress to stop states from regulating AI for a decade — while Congress does little to nothing to rein in the sector.”

Fraser continued: “The reality is that Big Tech companies are still spending tens of millions of dollars to curry favor with lawmakers and shape tech legislation. These efforts have allowed them to continue marketing products that use Americans’ personal information to engage in predatory surveillance practices, harm and kill children, and stoke division and hate. Congress has a responsibility to protect our democracy by standing up to Big Tech companies and passing commonsense safeguards that will finally hold them accountable.”

Despite Congress blocking the decade-long moratorium, Trump is now preparing executive orders this week that will prohibit federal AI funds from going to states with restrictive AI laws.

And since the start of his second term in the White House, Trump has also been unilaterally delaying the enactment of a law passed by Congress with bipartisan support requiring ByteDance to sell TikTok or sever ties to the Chinese government — thrice extending the deadline for the company to divest from Chinese ownership.

The message from the past six months is clear: Big Tech’s lobbying dollars and political ambitions just continue to expand.

Who spent the most?

Among the tech titans spending record-breaking amounts on lobbying, Meta, which is set to benefit heavily from the massive tax carveouts granted by Congress in the recently passed reconciliation package, has continued to expand its lobbying operations.

During the first half of 2025, Meta spent a record $13.8 million on lobbying  — the most the company has spent on lobbying in the first half of a year since it first hired federal lobbyists in 2009. This figure also represents a 1.5% increase from what it spent on lobbying during the first half of 2024. So far this year, Meta has hired 86 lobbyists — one for every six members of Congress.

Many of the other most notable names in the development of AI products also upped their lobbying efforts during the first half of 2025.

• Alphabet spent $7.8 million on lobbying during the first half of 2025 — an increase of 7% from what it spent during the same period in 2024.

• Microsoft spent $5.2 million on lobbying during the first half of 2025 — an increase of 2% from what it spent during the same period in 2024.

• Nvidia spent $1.6 million on lobbying during the first half of 2025 — an increase of 388% from what it spent during the same period in 2024.

• OpenAI spent $1.2 million on lobbying during the first half of 2025 — an increase of 44% from what it spent during the same period in 2024.

Which tech titans’ lobbying spending was down?

Meanwhile, some social media companies have moderately reduced their lobbying efforts compared to last year.

• ByteDance spent $5.4 million on lobbying during the first of 2025 — about 11% less than it spent during the first half of 2024.
• Snap spent $580,000 on lobbying during the first half of 2025 — about 9% less than the same period in 2024.
• X, spent just $340,000 on lobbying during the first half of 2024 — about 9% less than the same period in 2024.

Despite its modest decrease in spending, ByteDance continues to employ an army of lobbyists in Washington, as it works to defend itself from criticism from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle. So far this year, ByteDance has hired 41 lobbyists — one for every 13 members of Congress.