Facebook, Google, Amazon join forces in D.C. lobby By Cecilia Kang<http://www.washingtonpost.com/cecilia-kang/2011/02/28/ABFs9eL_page.… Internet titans Facebook, Google, Amazon and Yahoo on Wednesday will launch a new lobbying association to counter efforts by federal regulators to strap new rules <http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/in-silicon-valley-fast-firms-and-slow-regulators/2012/07/05/gJQAsc4YQW_story.html>to their industry. The Internet Association, led by Capitol Hill veteran Michael Beckerman, aims to band together Silicon Valley's biggest Internet firms on issues such as piracy and copyright, privacy<http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/web-privacy-guide… cybersecurity. The lobbying shop, with four staff members and plans to hire more, has 14 members that include IAC, LinkedIn and Zynga. Absent from the roster are Microsoft and Apple — rivals to Google, in particular, in mobile software and advertising. The trade association, the first for the Web industry, was created in response to last year’s successful fight against anti-piracy legislation that the firms feared would block or punish their sites for containing pirated movies, books and songs. The bills, known as the Stop Online Piracy Act <http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/sopa-protests-to-shut-down-web-sites/2012/01/17/gIQA4WYl6P_story.html>and Protect IP Act, were derailed after online protests. The bills, supported by some authors and Hollywood, are expected to be revived as Congress grapples with ways to prevent online content theft. “SOPA and PIPA came almost out of nowhere and would have had a devastating impact,” said Beckerman, former deputy staff director of the House Energy & Commerce Committee. The lobbying group comes as Silicon Valley giants bolster their lobbying budgets and expand offices in Washington. Google<http://www.washingtonpost.com/google-facing-force-of-aggressive-e… already spent nearly $9 million on lobbying in the first two quarters of 2012, compared to $3.5 million during the comparable period last year. Facebook has spent $1.6 million in first two quarters of this year compared to $550,000 last year. -- Michelle Paulson Legal Counsel Wikimedia Foundation 149 New Montgomery Street, 3rd Floor San Francisco, CA 94105 mpaulson(a)wikimedia.org 415.839.6885 ext. 6608 (Office) 415.882.0495 (Fax) NOTICE: *This message might have confidential or legally privileged information in it. If you have received this message by accident, please delete it and let us know about the mistake. For legal reasons, I may only serve as an attorney for the Wikimedia Foundation. This means I may not give legal advice to or serve as a lawyer for community members, volunteers, or staff members in their personal capacity.*