While a federal judge in Washington, D.C. was warning courtroom spectators not to use smart glasses during Mark Zuckerberg's antitrust testimony, Meta was doing something arguably more consequential than anything happening inside that courtroom: spending tens of millions of dollars to influence the legislators who will write the laws that govern it.
An investigation published by The Driscoll Globe reveals that Meta has committed $65 million in political spending aimed at influencing Congress - including members who sit on committees with jurisdiction over tech regulation, privacy law, and antitrust policy. The timing is not subtle. Zuckerberg is simultaneously defending his company in an antitrust trial that could force the divestiture of Instagram and WhatsApp, while Meta's lobbying apparatus works to shape the regulatory environment those proceedings exist within.
Let me be clear about what this is and what it is not. Corporate political spending is legal. Lobbying is legal. Companies spending money to influence legislation that affects them is how the United States system operates. None of this is illegal. All of it is worth examining.
But $65 million is not routine. It represents a serious commitment to what the industry calls 'regulatory arbitrage' - shaping the rules of the game rather than just playing by them. And the scope of Meta's exposure to potential regulation makes the investment rational from a pure return-on-investment perspective.
Consider what is on the table. The antitrust trial itself could force structural changes to Meta's business. Separately, Congress has been debating various privacy bills, children's online safety legislation, and AI regulatory frameworks - all of which would meaningfully affect Meta's operations. The company is also facing ongoing scrutiny from the FTC, state attorneys general, and European regulators simultaneously.
Against that backdrop, $65 million in political spending to ensure that the people writing those laws have a favorable view of your company's positions is not extravagant. It is arguably cheap.
What makes this worth paying attention to is the comprehensiveness of the strategy. It is not just lobbying on specific bills. It is the construction of a legislative environment where the people with power over Meta's fate have financial relationships with Meta. That is a different kind of influence than sending a lobbyist to explain your position on a particular clause.
Zuckerberg's personal political evolution over the past two years - from tech industry's progressive-ish figurehead to conspicuous alignment with the current administration - fits into the same strategic frame. Meta is playing defense on multiple fronts simultaneously, and it is using every legal instrument available to improve its position.
The technology Meta has built is genuinely impressive. The lobbying apparatus is equally impressive, and depending on your perspective on corporate political influence, considerably more consequential for how the next decade of tech policy unfolds. Readers should understand both dimensions of what this company is, not just one.
