attestation-findings/data/processed/california_lobbying_findings.md

# California Lobbying Findings: Meta Platforms

**Research Date:** 2026-03-12
**Status:** Critical gap addressed -- California is Meta's headquarters state

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## 1. Executive Summary

Meta Platforms is a registered lobbyist employer in California and is on track for record-breaking state lobbying expenditures. In 2025, Meta spent at least **$1,036,728** on direct California state lobbying in the first three quarters alone, with Q2 2025 ($518,605) being the highest single-quarter spend in company history for California lobbying. Beyond direct lobbying, Meta committed **$65 million** to two super PACs targeting California and multi-state tech policy. Meta publicly supported AB-1043 (Digital Age Assurance Act), which was signed into law on October 13, 2025. Trade associations representing Meta (TechNet, Chamber of Progress) initially opposed AB-1043 but the companies themselves endorsed the final version.

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## 2. California State Lobbying Expenditures

### 2.1 Direct Lobbying Spending (California State)

| Period | Amount | Notes |
|--------|--------|-------|
| 2025 Q1 (Jan-Mar) | Not individually reported | Part of $1,036,728 total |
| 2025 Q2 (Apr-Jun) | **$518,605** | Highest single-quarter spend ever |
| 2025 Q3 (Jul-Sep) | Not individually reported | Part of $1,036,728 total |
| 2025 Q1-Q3 Total | **$1,036,728** | On pace for record annual spend |
| 2025 Q4 (Oct-Dec) | Not yet available at time of research | -- |

**Key context:** Meta is on pace to spend the most it has ever spent on lobbying in California, driven by aggressive AI legislation in the state legislature (50+ AI-related bills introduced in the 2025 session).

### 2.2 Federal Lobbying Spending (for comparison)

| Year | Federal Amount |
|------|---------------|
| 2023 | $19,300,000 |
| 2024 | $24,430,000 |
| 2025 (Q1-Q3) | $19,700,000 (on pace for ~$26,290,000 annual) |
| 2025 Q1 alone | $7,990,000 |

Source: OpenSecrets federal lobbying database.

### 2.3 Super PAC / Political Spending in California

Meta committed **$70+ million** to four super PACs in 2025:

1. **American Technology Excellence Project (ATEP)** -- $45 million contribution
   - Multi-state super PAC (state-level, not FEC-registered)
   - Co-led by Republican veteran Brian Baker and Democratic consulting firm **Hilltop Public Solutions**
   - Focus: electing state candidates supportive of minimal tech/AI regulation
   - **Hilltop Public Solutions also coordinates DCA messaging** — first firm confirmed bridging Meta's super PAC and astroturf advocacy operations

2. **Mobilizing Economic Transformation Across California (META California)** -- $20 million contribution
   - California-specific super PAC
   - Led by **Brian Rice**, Meta's VP of Public Policy, and **Greg Maurer**, another top Meta policy executive
   - Entered 2026 with approximately $19.7 million still available
   - Focus: supporting state-level candidates from both parties who favor lighter AI and tech regulation

3. **Forge the Future** (Texas, Republican-aligned, ATEP affiliate)
   - Policy priority: **"Empowering parents with oversight of children's online activities"** — mirrors ASAA language
   - State-level entity, not FEC-registered

4. **California Leads** -- $5 million contribution
   - Union-partnered super PAC

### 2.4 Trade Association Payments

Meta paid the **California Chamber of Commerce** approximately **$3.1 million**, constituting the bulk of its reported spending through the Chamber. Meta is also a member of:
- **TechNet** -- registered ~$200,000 in California lobbying (first half 2025)
- **Chamber of Progress** -- registered ~$200,000 in California lobbying (first half 2025)
- **CCIA (Computer & Communications Industry Association)**

---

## 3. Registered Lobbyists and Key Personnel

### 3.1 Key Meta Policy Personnel (California)

| Name | Title | Role |
|------|-------|------|
| **Brian Rice** | VP of Public Policy, Meta | Leads META California PAC; top California policy executive |
| **Greg Maurer** | Policy Executive, Meta | Co-leads California political operations |
| Meta Head of Global Policy | (name not publicly disclosed in search results) | Oversees all corporate political activity including lobbying and political contributions |

### 3.2 Lobbying Firms

The specific California contract lobbying firms retained by Meta were not individually identified in publicly available search results. Meta employs both in-house lobbyists and external firms. At the federal level, Meta retained **40+ lobbying firms** and employed **87 lobbyists** (2025 figures); 85% were "revolving door" lobbyists with prior government service.

**Note:** The California Secretary of State's CAL-ACCESS database (cal-access.sos.ca.gov) and calobbysearch.org maintain records of all registered lobbyists and their employers. A direct database query for "Meta Platforms" as lobbyist employer would yield the complete list of individual registered California lobbyists. WebFetch access to these databases was not available during this research session.

### 3.3 Registration Entity Names

Meta may appear in California lobbying records under multiple entity names:
- **Meta Platforms, Inc.** (current corporate name, since Oct 2021)
- **Facebook, Inc.** (former name, historical filings)
- **Meta Platforms Technologies** (subsidiary, VR/AR hardware)
- **Meta Platforms Inc. and Various Subsidiaries** (filing nomenclature used in some lobbying disclosures)

---

## 4. AB-1043 (Digital Age Assurance Act) -- Lobbying Activity

### 4.1 Bill Overview

- **Bill:** AB-1043, authored by Assemblymember Buffy Wicks (D-14th District) and Senator Tom Umberg
- **Subject:** Age verification signals for software applications and online services
- **Signed:** October 13, 2025 by Governor Gavin Newsom
- **Effective date:** January 1, 2027
- **Mechanism:** Requires OS providers (Apple, Google, Microsoft) to collect user age during device setup and transmit age bracket signals to app developers via API. Does NOT require photo ID, parental consent, or biometric data.

### 4.2 Meta's Position: SUPPORT

Meta publicly endorsed AB-1043. Official statement:
> "Understanding the age of people online is an industry-wide challenge... [this legislation] would centralize age verification within app stores and operating systems, which Meta supports, giving teens a better, age-appropriate online experience while giving parents peace of mind."

### 4.3 Other Positions on AB-1043

**Supporters:**
- Google ("one of the most thoughtful approaches we've seen thus far")
- Meta
- Snap
- OpenAI
- Pinterest
- Internet Works coalition (Reddit, Pinterest, Roblox)
- Children's advocacy organizations

**Opponents:**
- TechNet (trade association; Meta is a member)
- Chamber of Progress (trade association; Meta is a member)
- Oakland Privacy
- Motion Picture Association (representing Netflix, Disney, Universal) -- formally requested veto
- Digital Childhood Alliance

**Notable:** Apple remained silent on AB-1043, despite being one of the OS providers required to implement the age signaling framework. Analysts speculated this was due to ongoing App Store scrutiny.

**Key dynamic:** While Meta's trade associations (TechNet, Chamber of Progress) formally opposed the bill, Meta itself broke ranks and publicly supported it. This suggests Meta lobbied internally within trade groups on this issue, and that Meta's direct lobbying on AB-1043 was in favor of passage.

### 4.4 Legislative History

- April 22, 2025: Assembly Committee on Privacy and Consumer Protection hearing
- April 29, 2025: Assembly Judiciary Committee hearing
- July 15, 2025: Senate Standing Committee on Judiciary hearing
- September 9, 2025: Assemblymember Wicks announced broad tech industry support
- October 13, 2025: Signed by Governor Newsom

---

## 5. DCA and Related Entity California Lobbying

### 5.1 Digital Childhood Alliance (DCA)

No California lobbying registration was found for the **Digital Childhood Alliance** (DCA) in the search results. DCA is a 501(c)(4) organization funded by Meta that advocates for the App Store Accountability Act at the state level. DCA **opposed** AB-1043 (see Section 4.3), which is notable because Meta **supported** it — suggesting DCA operates with some degree of messaging independence from Meta on state-specific legislation, even as both align on the broader ASAA agenda.

DCA has no incorporation record, no EIN, and no IRS filing found in any public database. It likely operates under fiscal sponsorship from NCOSEAction / Institute for Public Policy (EIN 88-1180705, 501(c)(4)).

### 5.2 Related Trade Associations Active in California

The following trade associations with Meta membership are registered to lobby in California:

| Organization | CA Lobbying (H1 2025) | Meta Member? |
|-------------|----------------------|--------------|
| TechNet | ~$200,000 | Yes |
| Chamber of Progress | ~$200,000 | Yes |
| California Chamber of Commerce | Active (received $3.1M from Meta) | Yes (major contributor) |
| CCIA | Active | Yes |

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## 6. Broader California Political Influence Strategy

Meta's California influence strategy has three pillars (as stated in PAC filings):
1. **Promoting and defending U.S. technology companies and leadership**
2. **Advocating for AI progress** (opposing restrictive state AI regulation)
3. **Putting parents in charge** of how their kids experience online apps and AI technologies

Meta launched this multi-pronged approach in response to California introducing 50+ AI-related bills in 2025 and the state's increasing role as a de facto national regulator of technology companies.

---

## 7. Data Gaps and Recommended Follow-Up

### Gaps Identified

1. **Individual lobbyist names:** The specific names of Meta's registered California state lobbyists were not obtainable from web searches. The CAL-ACCESS database (cal-access.sos.ca.gov) should be queried directly for Meta Platforms as a lobbyist employer to get the full roster.

2. **Contract lobbying firms:** The specific Sacramento lobbying firms retained by Meta for California state work were not identified. This data is available in Form 625 filings on CAL-ACCESS.

3. **2024 California spending totals:** Full-year 2024 California state lobbying totals for Meta were not found. Only 2025 Q1-Q3 data ($1,036,728) is confirmed.

4. **2025 Q4 and full-year totals:** Q4 2025 data not yet available at time of research.

5. **DCA entity:** No California lobbying registration found for "Digital Childhood Alliance" -- DCA may not be registered as a California lobbying entity. DCA opposed AB-1043 while Meta supported it.

### Recommended Actions

- **Direct CAL-ACCESS query:** Search cal-access.sos.ca.gov for employer = "Meta Platforms" to get complete lobbyist roster, firm relationships, and quarterly expenditure reports (Forms 635/625).
- **FPPC database:** Check fppc.ca.gov/transparency/registered-to-lobby.html for current Meta registrations.
- **calobbysearch.org:** Independent search tool that may provide easier access to Meta's California filings.
- **California Civic Data Coalition:** calaccess.californiacivicdata.org provides bulk download of all CAL-ACCESS data for programmatic analysis.

---

## 8. Sources

- [Meta on Path for Record-Year Spend on California Tech Lobbying (Bloomberg Government)](https://news.bgov.com/bloomberg-government-news/meta-on-path-for-record-year-spend-on-california-tech-lobbying)
- [Meta Pours $65 Million Into Super PACs (TechStory)](https://techstory.in/meta-pours-65-million-into-super-pacs-to-influence-californias-tech-policy-landscape/)
- [Meta Political Engagement (Meta official)](https://www.meta.com/people-practices/meta-political-engagement/)
- [Big Tech Lobbying 2025 Q3 (Issue One)](https://issueone.org/articles/big-tech-lobbying-2025-q3/)
- [Meta Lobbying Profile (OpenSecrets)](https://www.opensecrets.org/federal-lobbying/clients/summary?id=D000033563)
- [Google, Meta Among Tech Leaders Supporting AB-1043 (Assemblymember Wicks)](https://a14.asmdc.org/press-releases/20250909-google-meta-among-tech-leaders-and-child-advocates-voicing-support-wicks)
- [AB-1043 Committee Analysis (Assembly Privacy Committee)](https://apcp.assembly.ca.gov/system/files/2025-04/ab-1043-wicks-apcp-analysis.pdf)
- [Governor Newsom Signs AB-1043 (Governor's Office)](https://www.gov.ca.gov/2025/10/13/governor-newsom-signs-bills-to-further-strengthen-californias-leadership-in-protecting-children-online/)
- [AB-1043 Digital Democracy Tracking (CalMatters)](https://calmatters.digitaldemocracy.org/bills/ca_202520260ab1043)
- [California Enacts Google-Backed Age Verification Law (Bloomberg Government)](https://news.bgov.com/bloomberg-government-news/california-enacts-google-backed-law-for-app-stores-to-verify-age)
- [Meta Launches Super PAC to Fight AI Regulation (Axios)](https://www.axios.com/2025/09/23/meta-superpac-ai-regulation)
- [Meta Launches Super PAC (TechCrunch)](https://techcrunch.com/2025/09/23/meta-launches-super-pac-to-fight-ai-regulation-as-state-policies-mount/)
- [Inside the Lobbying Frenzy Over California's AI Bills (TechPolicy.Press)](https://www.techpolicy.press/inside-the-lobbying-frenzy-over-californias-ai-companion-bills/)
- [Lobbying California Officials Topped Half a Billion in 2024 (CalMatters)](https://calmatters.org/data/2025/04/california-lobbying-spending-2024/)
- [California Secretary of State CAL-ACCESS Lobbying](https://cal-access.sos.ca.gov/lobbying/)
- [California State Lobbying Search](https://calobbysearch.org/)
- [FPPC Registered to Lobby](https://www.fppc.ca.gov/transparency/registered-to-lobby.html)
- [Meta tops spending again as AI lobbying heats up (Axios)](https://www.axios.com/2025/10/21/tech-lobbying-insights-q3)
- [California Age Law Splits Tech Giants (TUAW)](https://www.tuaw.com/2025/10/14/california-age-law-splits-tech-giants)
- [AB-1043 Bill Text (California Legislature)](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260AB1043)