Talk's Not Cheap for Google in D.C.

With the federal government paying ever more attention to Google, it’s understandable that Google is returning the favor. The company’s latest lobbying disclosure shows it spent $1.34 million in the second quarter to bend the ears of lawmakers and regulators, 41 percent more than it spent in the same period last year and on a par with what it paid in this year’s first quarter. Google’s lobbying budget has been on a steady climb the past few years–focused on issues like online advertising, privacy, competition and cloud computing–though it is still topped by the outlays of companies like AT&T, Comcast and Microsoft.