Apple Ramped Up US Lobbying As Antitrust Suits Loomed

Apple spent a record $4.6 million on federal lobbying during the first six months of 2022 as the technology company faced growing pressure from Congress and federal investigators over its alleged monopolistic behavior, an OpenSecrets analysis of federal lobbying disclosures found. 

The record lobbying spending puts Apple on pace to exceed the $6.5 million paid during all of 2021. The company spent nearly $2.7 million during the first quarter of 2022 – the most it has ever spent – and dropped $1.9 million during the second quarter.

But after years-long investigations by the Department of Justice, Congress and the Federal Trade Commission into alleged anticompetitive behavior by Apple and other Silicon Valley tech giants including Amazon, Google and Meta, POLITICO reported last week that lawyers at the DOJ are drafting an antitrust complaint against Apple.

Apple’s troubles have not been limited to the US. The company found itself in the European Commission’s crosshairs after Spotify complained that Apple unfairly restricted rivals to its own music streaming service Apple Music on iPhones.

 Likewise, Apple and a number of other large digital firms have been criticized and scrutinized recently in Asia, with their representatives being invited to India’s Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance for hearings on alleged anti-competitive practices of big tech firms.