Google, Amazon, eBay, Facebook, and other massive Internet companies are forming a U.S. lobby group known as the Internet Association.
The Internet Association will start working in September with the aim “to educate [lawmakers] about the impact of the Internet in their congressional districts,” the group’s President and CEO Michael Beckerman told Reuters.
“In September, we’ll do a full rollout and announce companies and announce policy positions,” he added.
Beckerman confirmed only that Google, Amazon, eBay, and Facebook were part of the lobby group, but said there were more companies involved.
Google and Facebook have spent millions of dollars each on lobbying the U.S. government. In the second quarter of this year alone, Google spent $3.92 million in lobbying.
The association will likely push for ending or easing restrictions on hiring overseas engineers, on privacy, on sales tax rates, and on cybersecurity.
Online companies protested earlier this year against the U.S.’s Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and Protect IP Act (PIPA), as well as the U.S.-sponsored Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA).
