Google’s 2011 Lobbying Expenses Climb to $9.68 Million

Google’s interests in Washington these days are quite a bit broader than they once were: Competition, privacy, patent reform, copyright, H1-B visa reform, renewable energy — the list goes on. No surprise, then, that the company doubled its federal lobbying spending in 2011. According to the latest numbers from the Lobbying Disclosure Act Database, the search sovereign spent $9.68 million in 2011 on federal lobbying — 88 percent more than it spent in 2010.