Facebook continued to show off its growing political muscle Tuesday night, as its nascent political action committee disclosed an impressive six-figure haul during its inaugural fundraising quarter.
Facebook PAC raised a total of $170,000 during the final three months of 2011. And while it has yet to donate to a single politician on Capitol Hill, it revealed at least one important fact with its first fundraising report: the company is capable of tapping a friendly and powerful network of donors to come up with a serious amount of campaign cash.
Namely, its own employees.
Employees at the world's most popular social network donated $113,750 to their new PAC, or about 67 percent of all itemized donations made to Facebook PAC during the fourth quarter, according to a Center for Responsive Politics review of its recent filing with the Federal Election Commission.
...The new fundraising push comes at a time when Facebook has been investing more and more in its Washington, D.C., footprint.
In recent years, the company has steadily increased its lobbying presence, beginning with a modest near $208,000 year in 2009.
Facebook upped those expenditures in 2010, but it was nothing compared to what it spent last year, when the company's output exploded with a whopping $1.35 million spending spree.
Friday, February 3, 2012
Facebook PAC
Facebook is more than a dominant force in social media. It is also a corporate interest group. Evan Mackinder writes at the Open Secrets blog:
