Google's 3Q Lobbying Costs Eclipse $1 Million

MICHAEL LIEDTKE

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Google Inc.'s quarterly lobbying expenses eclipsed $1 million for the first time during the summer as the company tried to build on its dominance of Internet search and expand into other markets.

The company spent nearly $1.1 million trying to influence lawmakers and regulators in the third quarter, a 50 percent increase from the July-September period last year, according to a recent disclosure statement.

Google's lobbying budget has been steadily rising during the past year even as it tightened its belt in other areas to bolster its earnings during the worst U.S. recession in 70 years.

Through the first nine months of this year, Google's lobbying costs came to $2.9 million, a 41 percent increase from the same time last year. That contrasted with a 2 percent decline in Google's companywide expenses during the same period.

Convinced the worst is over, Google's management last month said the company intended to increase its spending again on technology development, computers and acquisitions. The executives didn't indicate how the loosening purse strings will affect Google's lobbying costs in upcoming quarters.