Senator Attacks Big Tech Lobbying For Delaying Antitrust Bill

According to Senator Amy Klobuchar, an "incredible onslaught of money" against a landmark antitrust bill to check the power of the U.S. Big Tech companies hindered the passing of the legislation, Bloomberg reports.
Those dollars have funded advertisements designed to stir opposition to the American Innovation and Choice Online Act, she said at the Code Conference in Los Angeles.
Organizations funded by the technology industry have spent $120 million on political ads since 2021, outpacing the pharmaceutical industry for the first time. Almost all that money targeted Klobuchar's bill.
That's in addition to the almost $95 million that Alphabet Inc's GOOG GOOGL Google, Apple Inc AAPL, Amazon.com Inc AMZN, and Meta Platforms Inc META and their trade groups have spent on lobbying since 2021.
The bill has raised concerns over its impact on content moderation, but Klobuchar has snubbed the concerns and doesn't see that as a true obstacle.
Amazon spent a record $4.98 million, up 2.5% year-on-year, on lobbying during Q2.
Apple doled out $1.9 million in Q2, down from $2.5 million during Q1.
Google spent $2.77 million, up 32% Y/Y and down by 6.4% Q/Q.
Microsoft Corp MSFT spent $2.41 million in Q2, down 2.4% Y/Y.
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