Meta Lobbying Reaches $6.8 Million Amid Online Safety Debate

The retrieved records did not identify a third-quarter filing from last year for the in-house registrant, preventing a verified year-over-year comparison using that dataset.

McGinley LLC reported $90,000, the highest amount among the 19 outside-firm filings identified for the third quarter.

Three firms that filed for Meta in the second quarter, Hollier & Associates LLC, Harbinger Strategies LLC, and Sternhell Group, had no corresponding third-quarter filing in the retrieved records.

The in-house filing lists 13 lobbyists:

• Pat Trueman
• Kevin Martin
• Ritika Robertson, former Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee counsel and chief of staff to former Rep. Ken Buck (R-CO)
• Sonia Gill, former senior counsel to the Senate Judiciary Committee
• Shelly Marc, former deputy chief of staff to former Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA)
• Brian Rice, former Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee staff member
• Sandy Luff, former legislative director to former Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL)
• Dustin Carmack, former chief of staff to former Rep. Ron DeSantis (R-FL)
• Chris Randle, former legislative assistant to former Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV)
• Chris Herndon, former senior counsel to the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee
• Liza Bart Carroll, former legislative correspondent to former Rep. Scott Taylor (R-VA)
• John Branscome, former chief counsel to the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee
• Myriah Jordan, former general counsel to former Sen. Richard Burr (R-NC)

Broader Context

Children's online privacy and safety. The House passed the Kids Internet and Digital Safety (KIDS) Act, H.R. 7757, on June 29. The bill would establish new online safety requirements for platforms used by children and teenagers.

The Senate passed S. 836, the Children and Teens' Online Privacy Protection Act, sponsored by Sen. Edward Markey (D-MA), in March. The measure, also known as COPPA 2.0, would expand federal privacy protections for minors, including restrictions on targeted advertising and the collection of personal information.

The two chambers' proposals address overlapping issues but contain different provisions. Neither has completed the legislative process. Separately, Meta and state officials reached a settlement in August in a child-safety lawsuit after a trial began. The litigation concerns alleged harms associated with Meta's platforms and is separate from the federal legislative debate.

Digital Services Taxes. A Congressional Research Service analysis examines how digital services taxes and the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)/Group of 20 Pillar One proposal affect large multinational technology companies, many of which are based in the United States.

The report cites a U.S. Trade Representative finding that Alphabet and Meta would account for about 75% of revenue from France's digital advertising tax, underscoring the concentration of the tax burden on major U.S. technology firms.

A U.S. Chamber of Commerce-led letter urged federal trade officials to challenge Canadian and British digital services taxes. The coalition estimated the U.K. tax cost U.S. firms $2 billion and projected Canada's tax could cost them $2.3 billion annually.

The Bottom Line

Across the 80 matched filings identified in the retrieved dataset, Meta's combined lobbying expenditures fell $1.32 million, from $8,122,500 in the first quarter to $6,802,500 in the third quarter.

Congress continues to consider overlapping but distinct children's online privacy and safety measures, while digital services taxes remain a point of tension between the United States and trading partners. Meta's lobbying disclosures reflect its engagement on both issues alongside broader cybersecurity, content policy, and immigration matters.

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