How Google and Meta spent millions on lobbying before TikTok was hit with a ban bill in Congress

Congress passed legislation in March forcing TikTok to divest from parent company ByteDance in record time — or risk a U.S. ban.

Meanwhile, TikTok’s main competitors, Meta, Google and YouTube, worked furiously behind the scenes to ensure nothing stood in the way, according to new revelations.

Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, and Google, owner of YouTube, have poured millions into well-connected lobbyists to infiltrate Washington and take out their biggest competitor.

The bill, introduced on March 5 and passed on March 13, came amid concerns about China stealing Americans’ data and information.

A version of the bill that became law passed both houses and was signed by the president in April. With that, the clock began counting down nine months to what TikTok claims amounts to a “total ban.”

In the first quarter of 2024 — January through March, when the bill was introduced — Meta spent a whopping $7.6 million on lobbying, according to newly released disclosures.

In the last three months of 2023, $4.6 million was spent.

But the company covered its tracks and did not specifically mention the TikTok law itself in its disclosure. “China” is listed under trade lobbying issues on the form.

The government agencies that lobby on “China” include the Senate, the House of Representatives, the Department of Commerce, the Department of State, the White House, the U.S. Trade Representative, the Federal Trade Commission, the Department of Justice, and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.

Google spent $4 million on lobbying in the first three months of 2024, $3 million of which went to its internal lobbying team. Disclosures show that the company specifically lobbied for HR 7521 – the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act.

Big Tech has long waged an aggressive lobbying operation in the nation’s capital: Google parent company Alphabet has spent $14 million to convince lawmakers to pursue legislation that will benefit them in 2023.

Meta spent $19.3 million in 2023, but the company spent more money in the first quarter of this year than in any other quarter on record.

Google denied that it pushed lawmakers to pass the bill. “We have not taken a position on the bill,” spokesman José Castañeda told DailyMail.com.

Meta also told DailyMail.com that it had not lobbied on the bill. The company said the increase in lobbying spend was due to higher compensation as the company has performed well recently.

“Meta’s increase in lobbying expenditure is primarily due to operating costs, including changes in the timing of the semi-annual compensation structure and an increased share price,” spokesman Daniel Roberts said.

“Google and Meta’s reasons for lobbying for the divestiture of TikTok are cynical and political – if national security were the only motivation, they would surely look to their own companies, which collect Americans’ data and auction it off to China , court CCP leaders, and close the programs designed to limit foreign interference in the elections,” Sacha Haworth, executive director of the Tech Oversight Project, told DailyMail.com.

“Lawmakers need to take a hard look at Google and Meta now, because if Congress just forces divestments on TikTok… it will be a huge handout for Big Tech.”

ByteDance also had the highest quarterly lobbying spend in the first three months of this year, although its $2.8 million paled in comparison to its tech competitors.

Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, and Google, owner of YouTube, have poured millions into well-connected lobbyists to infiltrate Washington and take out their biggest competitor.

After India last week banned 59 apps and services developed by Chinese companies, including TikTok, Facebook immediately stepped in and announced it would roll out its ‘Reels’, a video feature similar to TikTok, in the country.

The company has a long history of copying the features of its competitors. Instagram’s “stories,” photos and videos that disappear within 24 hours, came years after Snapchat did the same.

Instagram rolled out ‘Reels’ in 2020 and they’ve proven popular, but don’t suck in viewers for the average 54 minutes TikTok users spend on that app. Meta’s algorithm isn’t nearly as addictive or creepily personalized as TikTok. The algorithm is exactly what ByteDance says it is not willing to surrender to the US

Days ago, the platform sued the US government, accusing it of violating its First Amendment rights by allegedly trying to “silence the 170 million Americans” who use the social media application.

Former President Donald Trump warned that banning TikTok would make Facebook more powerful ahead of the divestment vote (although that warning came after he tried to do the same in 2020).

“Just so everyone knows, especially the young people: Crooked Joe Biden is responsible for banning TikTok. He is the one encouraging its closure and doing so to help his friends on Facebook,” Trump wrote on Truth Social after the bill passed in Congress.

From January 19, the new law would ban app stores from offering the TikTok app, while internet hosting services would not support it unless ByteDance divests it.

According to the lawsuit, the Chinese government “has made it clear that it would not allow a divestiture of the recommendation engine that is a key to TikTok’s success in the United States.”

It also said TikTok has spent $2 billion to implement measures to protect US users’ data and made additional commitments in a 90-page draft national security agreement developed through negotiations with the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States States (CFIUS).

That agreement included TikTok agreeing to a “shutdown option that would give the U.S. government the authority to suspend TikTok in the United States if it violates certain obligations,” the lawsuit said.