Mediaboss Marketing

The social networking spent $960,000 on lobbying in the second quarter of 2012, the first time it has come close to spending seven figures in a single quarter.

Facebook has once again significantly increased its budget for wooing politicians. The social network giant spent $960,000 on lobbying in the second quarter of 2012, the transition quarter during which the company went public. This is up exactly 200 percent from the $320,000 the company spent in the first quarter of 2011, and up 47.69 percent from the $650,000 it spent in the fourth quarter of 2012.

As you can see in the chart below, Facebook has been lobbying since 2009 but only cranked up the gears last year. In fact, 2011 was the first year Facebook spent more than $1 million for lobbying. To put the latest numbers into perspective, Facebook spent almost $1 million this past quarter alone, and in the first half of 2012 ($1.61 million) it has already blown past its total 2011 expenses ($1.35 million):

Facebook's 16-page lobbying report for the second quarter of 2012 (PDF) lists the following specific lobbying issues:

In summary, Facebook lobbied lawmakers on advertising, cybersecurity, employment, patents, privacy, taxes, and IPO issues. There are many reasons why Facebook's lobbying is increasing: the improving U.S. economy, the upcoming 2012 presidential election, as well as the various Internet-related bills making their way through Congress.

As all technology companies of Facebook's size, the social network will continue to friend Washington, D.C. as long as it has a list of items it wants help with. Working with the government is one of many ways Facebook is working to protect its interests, and in some cases, the interests of its users.

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Facebook breaks its lobbying record in Q2 2012