Google Lobbying Spending Nearly Doubles, $1.34M Spending Focused on Privacy

This past quarter, Google spent $1.34 million on Washington lobbyists, an increase of 41% over last year's spending during the same period. That brings the company's lobbying money up to $2.72 million for the first half of 2010, according to Consumer Watchdog. With all that spending, who and what is Google trying to influence?

Recently, the company has faced mounds of criticism over privacy issues, and it seems to be focusing its lobbying efforts on that front. For example, Johanna...