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Google’s payments to influence state government jumped to nearly $11 million between July and September, nearly 90 times more than the same period last year, making it the employer of California’s biggest-spending lobbyists in the third quarter.

Its lobbying action comes as the tech giant engages in a bitter battle at the state Capitol in the final months of the legislative session over whether or not it should pay media outlets for publishing their content.

Google’s lobbying spending has never exceeded $1.3 million in a single quarter, according to state recordsand are generally much less. During the first two quarters of 2024, Google spent an average of about $261,000 on lobbying, 41 times less than its $10.7 million bombing this summer.

The company did not respond to questions about its lobbying, which was ahead of last quarter. more typical titans of influence in Sacramento, including the Western States Petroleum Association, the California Business Roundtable and the California Hospital Association.

During that period, which included the end of the legislative session in August and the signing period for the governor’s bill in September, Google reached the conclusion of a contentious two-year battle over journalism funding.

The search giant could have paid tens of millions of dollars or more each year under Assembly Bill 886a proposal to force big tech platforms like Google to pay fees or negotiate with California media outlets for the use of their work. Presented by a member of the Assembly Buffy Highlightsan Oakland Democrat, the measure passed the Assembly last year before Wicks I put it aside to negotiate directly with the industry.

Instead, in August, she announced an agreement that Google provide $55 million over the next five years for a new fund for local newsrooms and $70 million for an artificial intelligence accelerator. As part of the deal, the state will also contribute $70 million over five years to the newsroom fund, while Google will maintain the $10 million in existing annual grants the company had. threatened to shoot if the bill were passed.

“This deal was an escape clause for Google,” the state senator said. Steve Glazera Democrat from Orinda who was pursue another proposalapproved by the Senate in June, which he said would have raised $500 million a year for California media by charging mitigation fees to major tech platforms.

Google had to step up its lobbying this summer to counter the new momentum of the journalism funding bills and secure a deal with more favorable terms, said Glazer, who did not support the final deal. “Their spending reflected the cheaper alternative. »

Wicks, who did not respond to an interview request, has already closed the deal the best of what was possible.

The millions of dollars spent to make Google’s case were largely funneled to two other organizations, according to its lobbying disclosure report: The tech giant paid $7 million to the Computer and Communications Industry Association and $2.75 million to the California Taxpayers Association during the third quarter. The groups aired advertisements on television And social media opposing the Wicks and Glazer bills.

Both organizations have already lobbied state officials, but Google’s summer payments resulted in budgets hundreds of times larger than those in the spring. Their third-quarter spending was almost entirely on hiring Washington, D.C.-based ad agencies, according to their disclosure reports.

Google’s record lobbying payments last quarter far outpaced those of other big tech companies that would have been forced to pay under Wicks and Glazer’s journalism funding proposals.

Amazon spent more than $918,000 during the third quarter, its largest lobbying quarter on record and triple the amount of the same period last year. Meta, who threatened to delete news articles from his Facebook and Instagram platforms if he had to pay them, spent almost $366,000.

Google didn’t just invest money to convince lawmakers. She also brought a small fortune to the campaigns of 40 elected officials in a single day, campaign finance disclosures to show. On September 13, two weeks after the Legislature adjourned, the company delivered checks totaling $107,500 to 39 lawmakers, including Wicks, as well as Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis — more than a third of the $301,800 that Google has contributed to state campaigns since last January.

Google’s third-quarter financial disclosures mention lobbying the Legislature on more than 30 bills, as well as the governor’s office and several state agencies, without providing details of its spending.

Another priority this summer was Senate Bill 1047which would have required testing AI models on a large scale to determine whether they were harming society. Big tech players, including Google, strongly opposed the regulation and it was ultimately vetoed by Governor Gavin Newsom in September.

But Senator. Scott Wienerthe San Francisco Democrat who supported the measure said Google’s lobbying seemed more focused on journalism funding legislation. While the company was one of the leading voices against his AI testing bill, he said, its efforts appeared to be directed outside the Capitol.

“It wasn’t a tidal wave of activity,” Wiener said. “It was a lot more online and on social media.”