Big Tech is spending $226,000 a day on lobbying Congress, advocacy group finds

From presidential inaugurations to high-profile dinners to documentary screenings, Big Tech leaders have become a fixture in the White House. And it looks like it’s spreading to Capitol Hill as well—their representatives are expanding their influence in Washington by spending millions in Congress. 

Big Tech companies, and especially emerging AI giants, are now spending more than ever on lobbying in Congress. In just the first three months of 2026, 11 top tech companies, including Alphabet, Microsoft, Anthropic, and OpenAI, spent $20 million on lobbying, according to an analysis of first-quarter lobbying reports by Issue One, a bipartisan political reform group. 

That’s an average of $226,000 a day in the first 90 days alone.

Big Tech’s lobbying spending has nearly doubled since 2020, as concerns grow about how social media has reshaped Americans’ lives, and as AI companies look to shape regulations over the controversial technology. 

Meta spends the most money by far: Between January and March, the company invested $7.1 million, or nearly $80,000 a day, on federal lobbying. Still, when compared to its previous lobbying efforts, the company spent about $900,000 less than during........

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