140 lines
7 KiB
Markdown
140 lines
7 KiB
Markdown
# FollowTheMoney.org — Multi-State Contribution Search
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**Research Date:** 2026-03-13
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**Data Source:** FollowTheMoney.org (National Institute on Money in Politics), OpenSecrets, news sources
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**Scope:** Campaign contributions from Meta entities to ASAA bill sponsors across UT, LA, TX, CO
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---
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## Executive Summary
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No direct campaign contributions from Meta PAC, Facebook PAC, Digital Childhood Alliance, Adam Eichberg, or Headwaters Strategies to any ASAA bill sponsor were confirmed through web-accessible FollowTheMoney.org data. However, the research identified all ASAA sponsors across four states, confirmed FollowTheMoney entity profiles for key actors, and surfaced significant contextual findings — notably that Utah's Todd Weiler has a policy of **not accepting corporate contributions** and reportedly has **not discussed ASAA directly with Meta**.
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**Note:** FollowTheMoney.org contribution detail tables require direct page access; the entity profile pages were identified but granular contribution records could not be scraped.
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---
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## 1. ASAA Bill Sponsors Identified
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| State | Bill | Sponsor(s) |
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|-------|------|-----------|
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| **Utah** | SB-142 | Sen. Todd Weiler (R) |
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| **Louisiana** | HB-570 | Rep. Kim Carver (R-Bossier City) |
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| **Texas** | SB 2420 | Sen. Angela Paxton (R-McKinney), Rep. Caroline Fairly (R-Amarillo) |
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| **Colorado** | SB26-051 | Sen. Matt Ball (D-31), Sen. Larry Liston (R-10), Rep. Amy Paschal (D-18) |
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| **Colorado** | HB25-1287 | Rep. Jarvis Caldwell (R-20), Rep. Meghan Lukens (D-26) |
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---
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## 2. FollowTheMoney Entity Profiles Found
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| Entity | Type | FollowTheMoney ID |
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|--------|------|-------------------|
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| Todd Weiler (UT) | Candidate | eid=6648183 |
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| Kim Carver (LA) | Candidate | eid=48107265 |
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| Amy Paschal (CO) | Candidate | eid=59901399 |
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| Angela Paxton (TX) | Candidate | eid=44105371 |
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| Caroline Fairly (TX) | Candidate | eid=59509953 |
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| Meta Platforms Inc | Contributor | eid=54466150 |
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| Headwaters Strategies | Contributor | eid=6153564 |
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| **Matt Ball (CO)** | **Not found** | Appointed (vacancy), limited disclosure |
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---
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## 3. Key Findings by Legislator
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### Todd Weiler (Utah, SB-142)
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- Has a long-standing policy of **not accepting corporate contributions**
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- Returned over $20,000 in unsolicited checks in 2012
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- Reportedly has **not discussed ASAA legislation directly with Meta**
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- First ASAA sponsor in the nation — the "clean" origin story for the bill
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**Significance:** If Weiler genuinely does not take corporate money and hasn't spoken with Meta, DCA's role becomes even more critical — it served as the intermediary to bring ASAA to a legislator who could not be directly lobbied through standard contribution channels.
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### Kim Carver (Louisiana, HB-570)
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- First-term legislator, won seat October 2023
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- HB-570 passed unanimously (99-0, 39-0)
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- DCA's Casey Stefanski testified at his bill's hearing
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- Meta's Nicole Lopez also testified in support
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- No specific Meta/Facebook contributions surfaced
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### Angela Paxton & Caroline Fairly (Texas, SB 2420)
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- Paxton: $180,287 in total contributions for 2024
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- Meta's Forge the Future super PAC reported **$1.3M in Texas expenditures** ahead of March 2026 primaries, backing "pro-innovation" Republican candidates
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- No specific Meta PAC → Paxton/Fairly contributions confirmed
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### Amy Paschal (Colorado, HB25-1287)
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- $12,024 in total contributions through 12/31/2025 — very modest campaign
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- Software engineer by profession
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- No Meta/Facebook/Headwaters contributions found
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### Matt Ball (Colorado, SB26-051)
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- **Appointed** to fill a vacancy in January 2025 (not elected)
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- Vacancy committee appointment process has limited standard fundraising disclosure
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- No FollowTheMoney profile found
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- **Jake Levine (Meta PM) contributed $1,175** via CO TRACER (established in prior analysis)
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- **Kyle Gardner (Google Policy Manager) contributed $450** (prior analysis)
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---
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## 4. Meta's Broader State-Level Political Spending
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| Channel | Amount | Notes |
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|---------|--------|-------|
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| Federal lobbying (2025) | $26.29M | All-time record |
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| Forge the Future super PACs | $65M budget | 4 PACs total |
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| Texas super PAC spending | $1.3M | March 2026 primaries, "pro-innovation" candidates |
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| Meta PAC federal contributions | $197,300 | 2023-2024 cycle |
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| Headwaters Strategies (CO) | $338,500 | Direct lobbying payments |
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| California super PACs | $65M | ATEP + META California |
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Meta publishes semi-annual **state corporate political contributions reports** on its Political Engagement page, but the specific PDFs were not accessible for analysis.
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---
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## 5. Limitations
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The following data sources were identified but could not be accessed:
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1. **FollowTheMoney.org contribution detail tables** — entity profiles found but granular records require direct page access or API credentials
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2. **Meta's semi-annual state contributions PDF** — would list any direct corporate contributions to state candidates
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3. **Louisiana Ethics Administration Program** (ethics.la.gov) — Carver's full contributor list
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4. **Texas Ethics Commission / Transparency USA** — Paxton and Fairly contributor lists
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5. **Colorado TRACER** — already analyzed for Ball/Paschal in prior research (Levine finding)
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---
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## 6. Conclusions
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### What This Establishes
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1. **No direct Meta PAC → ASAA sponsor contributions** were confirmed across four states
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2. **Todd Weiler does not accept corporate contributions** — DCA served as the policy intermediary, not campaign contributions
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3. **Meta's influence operates through lobbying and advocacy channels**, not traditional campaign contributions to bill sponsors
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4. **Forge the Future super PAC** spent $1.3M in Texas ahead of 2026 primaries
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5. **Matt Ball's appointment** (not election) means he was less susceptible to contribution-based influence — the Levine contribution is notable but post-appointment
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### The Influence Model
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The absence of direct contributions to ASAA sponsors actually **clarifies Meta's strategy**: it does not need to buy legislators. Instead:
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1. **DCA provides the policy template** and grassroots advocacy pressure
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2. **State lobbyists** (Headwaters, Pelican State) provide direct legislative access
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3. **DCA coalition members** (Heritage, NCOSE, Moms for Liberty) provide bipartisan political cover
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4. **Super PACs** support broadly "pro-innovation" candidates, not ASAA-specific sponsors
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5. **The bills pass on policy merits** as framed by DCA — legislators don't need to be paid when they believe they're protecting children
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---
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## Sources
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- FollowTheMoney.org Entity Profiles: https://www.followthemoney.org/entity-details?eid=54466150 (Meta)
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- FollowTheMoney.org Headwaters: https://www.followthemoney.org/entity-details?eid=6153564
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- Deseret News Meta-DCA: https://www.deseret.com/opinion/2025/12/07/child-safety-bill-backed-by-meta/
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- The Center Square (Stefanski testimony): https://www.thecentersquare.com/louisiana/article_e97200f8-13d0-4b1f-90a9-e9a7093d329f.html
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- Meta Political Engagement: https://about.meta.com/facebook-political-engagement/
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- OpenSecrets Headwaters: https://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/headwaters-strategies/recipients?id=D000074493
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