When iPhones first came on the market, customers could only get their devices fixed at an actual Apple store. Now that the phones have become ubiquitous, phone repair store have popped up on nearly every block and in every mall, providing owners with a plethora of options and prices when it comes to seeking repairs for their devices. But a new report shows that Apple and other tech manufacturers and organizations are fighting against these choices, pushing to eliminate state legislation that aims to make it easier for anyone to repair electronics. [More]
lobbying
How Much Does The Cable Industry Hate Two FCC Proposals? $22M And Counting
By 6.13.16
The FCC has been surprisingly busy over the last couple of years, taking lots of action on phone, TV, and internet issues that plague consumers. And while their many proposals have definite fans out there in the world… the big cable companies we all love to hate are decidedly not among them. [More]
Cable’s Top Lobbyist Is Sick And Tired Of All This “Troublesome,” “Distressing” Regulation And Competition
By 5.17.16
Our old friend Michael “Regulation Is Bad” Powell, former FCC chairman and now top pro-cable lobbyist, is at it again. [More]
Comcast, AT&T Lobbyists Help Kill Community Broadband Expansion In Tennessee
By 3.16.16
When cable and telecom companies go through the effort of writing anti-consumer legislation for states, they can later be counted on to lobby to keep those laws in place when challenged. Case in point: Lobbyists for Comcast and AT&T recently helped kill a small piece of legislation in Tennessee that would have allowed a city-run utility to expand the reach of its broadband service. [More]
DraftKings & FanDuel Are Exempt From Online Gambling Laws Because Pro Sports Wanted It That Way
By 11.16.15
Daily fantasy sports sites DraftKings and FanDuel are basically everywhere lately. Not only are the ads for both companies a constant during every sports broadcast of any kind, but also there’s constantly news about FBI investigations, states trying to shut them down, or even John Oliver roasts. [More]
CVS Health Resigns From U.S. Chamber Of Commerce Over International Tobacco Advocacy
By 7.7.15
You may remember last fall when CVS removed tobacco products from its stores, maybe realizing that selling medicine in the back of the store and addictive carcinogen sticks in the front is kind of a confusing message. However, CVS Health is also a member of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, an organization doing its best to lobby for America’s tobacco industry in other countries. CVS resigned from the Chamber today for that reason. [More]
U.S. Chamber Of Commerce: Lobbying Hard For Big Tobacco Worldwide
By 6.30.15
The term “Chamber of Commerce” plants visions of a quaint, local organization helping hang banners in the town square at Christmas time, or sponsoring youth groups in a Fourth of July parade during warmer seasons. Realistically, however, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce is the nation’s largest business and commerce trade group. And among all their other lobbying work, the Chamber of Commerce has become one of the world’s biggest advocates for Big Tobacco, pushing that industry’s interests globally. [More]
Lawmaker Behind Pro-Airline Legislation Admits To Dating Top Airline Lobbyist
By 4.16.15
Congressman Bill Shuster from Pennsylvania, the Chair of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and the lawmaker behind pro-airline legislation like this 2014 bill to remove any transparency from advertised airfares — and whose top campaign contributors are United and American Airlines — has admitted today to being in a romantic relationship with a top lobbyist for the airline industry. [More]
Surprise, Surprise: Comments In Favor Of Comcast/TWC Merger Come From Groups Comcast Has Donated To
By 4.6.15
Large companies do a lot of philanthropic and community giving. Comcast is not alone on that front: volunteerism, grants, donations, and employee matching are common, perhaps even standard, at many of America’s biggest businesses. But where Comcast differs is that they, very publicly, turn their valuable giving into an unpaid army of on-demand lobbyists whenever they have a company to buy. Like Time Warner Cable. [More]
From The Cranberry Institute To Pickle Packers International: A Guide To Food Industry Trade Groups
By 4.3.15
There are thousands of trade groups in America. Probably hundreds of thousands. And although we most often hear from the groups representing industries like cable, tech, or banking, pretty much everyone out there has another someone out there collecting their dues and writing to Congress on their behalf. In the world of food, those groups can get as specific as every ingredient in your evening dinner. [More]
Why Big Companies Spend So Much Money On Washington: It Works Even Better Than You Think
By 11.21.14
That money talks in Washington is conventional wisdom for a reason. Corporations, industries, and a handful of extraordinarily wealthy individuals spend big bucks on campaigns and on lobbying not for fun, but because they expect to get something back in return. And while adding up all those expenditures is comparatively straightforward, finding out who gets how much back has been harder… until now. A new study finds that billions of dollars might go into D.C., but trillions are coming back out. [More]
Corinthian Colleges Continued Lobbying During Negotiations With Dept. Of Education
By 7.25.14
You can’t say they didn’t try. Corinthian Colleges Inc. – the for-profit college operation behind chains Everest, Heald and WyoTech – spent hundreds of thousands of dollars for lobbying right up until it was announced that its schools would be closing or sold. [More]
Comcast Spending Big On Legion Of Lobbyists To Try To Win Approval For TWC Merger
By 5.23.14
Mergers are an expensive business. Not only is Comcast spending $45 billion just to buy Time Warner Cable, but also there are the costs of getting the deal approved. Trying to convince regulators and lawmakers that this arrangement is not only not harmful, but potentially beneficial, is a hefty undertaking. That means a legion of lobbyists. [More]
Google Wants Nevada To Allow Its Driverless Cars On Roads
By 5.11.11
Google wants its self-driving cars to prowl Nevada streets, so it’s lobbying the state’s lawmakers to make its cars legal, and also give them exemptions from a distracted driver law that forbids text messaging while at the wheel. [More]
Worst Company In America Trophy Mailed To Comcast
By 10.5.10
We are super-duper late in mailing out Comcast’s Worst Company In America trophy so we decided to spice it up with a disco lightshow for the award and a nice congratulatory letter. [More]
Mastercard Spent $960,000 In Q4 To Lobby Congress
By 3.30.10
Kaching, kaching, that’s the sound of Mastercard’s lobbyist’s coffers engorging. The credit card company spent nearly a million dollars in the 4th quarter to lobby Congress critters. By comparison, they spent only $680,000 in the 3rd quarter, and $510,000 in Q4 2008. Among the issues of keen interest to the big orange and yellow interlocking circle: overdraft fees, banking reform, interchange fees, issuer practices, and the Consumer Financial Protection Agency. The good thing about being Mastercard is that you can just charge all your lobbying expenditures.
MasterCard spends $960,000 in 4Q to lobby Congress [AP via LowCards]
Biotech Firm Ghostwrote Identical Statements By Congress Critters On Health Care Bill
By 11.16.09
A lobbyist for one of the world’s largest biotech firms ghostwrote in whole or in part the official statements made by different Congresspersons in the Congressional Record regarding a provision of the House health care bill, a Times investigation found.
Banking Bailout Party: New Details Emerge
By 2.10.09
The New York Times has details about the new bailout plan Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner is scheduled to talk about later today. Here’s a rundown of what’s on the menu:
