TechFlow reports, July 22, according to the latest federal lobbying disclosure filings, Anthropic's lobbying spending in the first half of 2026 has already exceeded its full-year total from last year. Anthropic's spending on lobbying in the second quarter was close to 2 million USD, focusing on issues such as export controls, cybersecurity, and AI safety standards. Anthropic's lobbying spending in the first half of this year has already exceeded 3.5 million USD, significantly higher than its total spending of 3.1 million USD for the entire year of 2025. The company also disclosed that its lobbying issues include Department of Defense procurement, funding support for the Department of Energy's "Genesis Mission," and the application of artificial intelligence in the healthcare sector. Anthropic's interaction with the Trump administration reached a key turning point last month. At that time, the U.S. Department of Commerce imposed export controls on the company, affecting its model services and triggering urgent negotiations between both parties.
The latest disclosure filings show that all major AI labs are closely monitoring the government's adjustments to AI safety standards and regulatory methods. OpenAI also faces delays in the launch of its latest models by the government and set a record for the company's highest quarterly lobbying spending in history, investing 1.2 million USD in the second quarter. The lobbying priorities disclosed by the company include copyright, cloud computing and infrastructure, cybersecurity, and privacy protection.
Google's lobbying spending in the second quarter was 3.57 million USD, while Microsoft was 2.69 million USD. Meta has long been the company with the highest lobbying spending in the tech industry, and the second quarter of 2026 was no exception, with spending reaching 5.99 million USD. Meta has also been under scrutiny from both parties in the U.S. Congress for insufficient online child protection measures, and this long-standing controversy is conflicting with its goal of developing chatbot business. (Jin10)
