Google reporting amounts totalled $2.2 million in the fourth quarter, according to forms posted to the US Senate Lobbying Disclosure database on Thursday, bringing the 2021 total to nearly $9.6 million, a jump of over $2 million from the prior year.
Specific lobbying issues included regulation of online advertising, privacy, data and competition issues, intellectual property enforcement, cybersecurity, and digital services taxes, among others.
Digital companies like Facebook and Google have been repeatedly criticised by users and regulators in the past few years for lack of efforts to properly ensure users' privacy and protect their personal data.