Google has found a way to hide its lobbying expenses
A new report shows Google switched up its lobbying disclosures after a big restructure in early 2020.
By creating Google Client Services LLC, the company made it so senior execs' lobbying efforts don't show up in public records.
As a result, their reported lobbying expenses dropped sharply—from $22 million in 2018 to just $8.9 million by 2020—even though they're still active on Capitol Hill.
Debate over transparency and ethical lobbying practices
This big drop has sparked debate over whether Google is being fully transparent about its political advocacy.
Some say the new setup hides major lobbying work, while Google insists everything is above board and matches what other companies do.
Spokesperson Jose Castaneda explained that this structure is a technical change that simply brought them in line with how many other companies report their lobbying activities, but with antitrust cases and AI rules heating up, people are watching how open tech giants like Google really are.