Apple has been hit with messy lawsuits in the past and this is not a rare occasion for one of the biggest companies in the world. Apple reportedly spends around $4.1 million just for lobbying European Union Institutions.
Apple Spends About $4.1 Million on Lobbying
According to Apple Insider, Apple is said to spend over 3.5 million euros or about $4.1 million USD on lobbying European Union institutions as it now weathers a barrage of different antitrust investigations. These numerous antitrust investigations are looking towards various parts of the business.
A particularly in-depth report from CorporateEurope.org that talked about Big Tech's massive influence in European politics from the Corporate Europe Observatory and Lobby Control gave an estimate of Apple's spendings. According to them, Apple spends between 3.5 million to 3.75 million euros in lobbying efforts alone aimed at EU entities.
Tech Company Lobbying Budget
This puts the tech giants just a little behind its fellow tech industry heavyweights including Google, Facebook, and even Microsoft whose lobbying budgets are reportedly set at 5.8 million, 5.5 million, and 5.3 million euros or over $6.8 million, $6.4 million, and $6.2 million USD respectively.
When considering the corporations, Apple's own spending puts the company in sixth place just shortly behind Bayer as well as Shell. Google, Facebook, and Microsoft remain their positions at the top three of the list. Apple has recently announced it will be establishing a fund to help developers that are earning $1 million or less.
Tech Companies Lobbyists
When it comes to lobbyists, Apple reportedly finds that about 4.5 full-time equivalents which is still at the upper echelons when it comes to lobbying power. Huawei currently leads the infrastructure provider sector along with 19 FTE lobbyists. Facebook comes in second with 14 FTE lobbyists. Both Google and Amazon also conduct operations with respective 5.5 FTE and 5 FTE lobbyists.
Big Tech companies reportedly also outsource lobbying duties to certain consultancies. The report notes that Google, Apple, Amazon, Facebook, Microsoft, and even Qualcomm relied on other lobby consultancies the most out of all of the other examined corporations in 2019 and 2020.
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Apple Lobbying Movement
Apple is not really known for its lobbying prowess and has only just recently started to seriously invest in engaging government bodies as the scrutiny over its business has been increasing. In 2019, for example, the company spent a massive $7.4 million on United States effort, this is a fraction of what Facebook, Amazon, and Google had paid over the same period.
In the European Union, Apple is reportedly under the microscope for its handling of Apple Music, the App Store, smart technology, and much more. The European Union found Apple to be in breach of its own laws in April 2021. Apple employees with the #AppleToo movement have started sharing stories of alleged discrimination they have experienced within the company.
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This article is owned by Tech Times
Written by Urian B.
