Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg is continuing to testify before the House Energy and Commerce Committee, a day after a grueling five-hour hearing before the Senate Judiciary and Commerce committees.
In total, the Facebook CEO will have to answer questions from nearly 100 lawmakers, many of whom have received thousands of dollars from Zuckerberg’s company.
Over the past 12 years, Facebook has spent $7 million in political campaign contributions.
Historically, Facebook has contributed more to Democrats than to Republicans.
That’s not unusual for tech companies: Amazon has spent $4 million on political campaigns over more than 20 years.
According to the Center for Responsive Politics, since 2014, Facebook has contributed a total of $641,685 to the members of Congress Zuckerberg is facing this week.
The top recipients of that money are Senators Cory Booker, Kamala Harris and Vice President Anna Eshoo.
The amount of money collected does not necessarily correlate with the aggressiveness of the questions asked by those senators at Zuckerberg’s first hearing.
However, Orrin Hatch made a somewhat odd comment in Facebook’s favor, stating:
“Some have said they are shocked, and that they are shocked that companies like Google and Facebook share user data with advertisers. Do any of these people stop to wonder why Google and Facebook don’t charge for access (to their platforms)? Nothing in life is free.”
Hatch has taken $15,200 from Facebook since 2014. But other senators who have received even larger contributions from Facebook have not been as lenient with the Facebook CEO. Cory Booker , who has taken $44,025 from Facebook since 2014, has challenged Zuckerberg over a 2016 ProPublica investigation that said Facebook advertisers could target audiences by race. Kamala Harris , who took the second-highest amount ($30,990), said the Facebook CEO failed to notify users in 2015 that Cambridge Analytica had misused their data, prompting Zuckerberg to take action. But while some senators have spoken out, Republican senators Roger Wicker and Dan Sullivan have questioned the need for any additional regulation. At one point, Senator Thom Tillis held up a tablet and pointed to Facebook’s “privacy” tab, accusing people of mishandling the platform. Wicker has received $10,000 from Facebook since 2014, Tillis has received $7,500, and Sullivan has received $2,500. All of Facebook’s political campaign contributions are listed below. The list includes members of the Senate Judiciary and Commerce committees, as well as the House Internal Revenue and Energy committees.
Facebook & Committee Leaders
| Legislator | Committee | Role | Party | 2014 Cycle | 2016 Cycle | 2018 Cycle | Total 2014-2018 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grassley, Chuck (R-IA) | Senate Judiciary | Chairman | R | $1,000 | $4,000 | $0 | $5,000 |
| Feinstein, Dianne (D-CA) | Senate Judiciary | Ranking Minority Member | D | $10,000 | $1,000 | $0 | $11,000 |
| Thune, John (R-SD) | Senate Commerce | Chairman | R | $3,500 | $5,000 | $2,000 | $10,500 |
| Nelson, Bill (D-FL) | Senate Commerce | Ranking Minority Member | D | $2,500 | $5,000 | $2,500 | $10,000 |
| Walden, Greg (R-OR) | House Energy & Commerce | Chairman | R | $7,500 | $7,000 | $5,500 | $20,000 |
| Pallone, Frank (D-NJ) | House Energy & Commerce | Ranking Minority Member | D | $3,500 | $0 | $2,500 | $6,000 |
Facebook & Senates
| SENATOR | PARTY | COMMITTEE | 2014 Cycle | 2016 Cycle | 2018 Cycle | Total 2014-2018 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Booker, Cory (D-NJ) | D | Judiciary | $42,000 | $0 | $2,025 | $44,025 |
| Harris, Kamala (D-CA) | D | Judiciary | N/A | $28,275 | $2,715 | $30,990 |
| Leahy, Patrick (D-VT) | D | Judiciary | $2,500 | $13,900 | $0 | $16,400 |
| Klobuchar, Amy (D-MN) | D | Commerce, Judiciary | $2,500 | $8,200 | $5,200 | $15,900 |
| Hatch, Orrin (R-UT) | R | Judiciary | $9,200 | $4,000 | $2,000 | $15,200 |
| Heller, Dean (R-NV) | R | Commerce | $3,000 | $2,500 | $8,900 | $14,400 |
| Blunt, Roy (R-MO) | R | Commerce | $0 | $14,100 | $0 | $14,100 |
| Lee, Mike (R-UT) | R | Commerce, Judiciary | $2,500 | $11,000 | $0 | $13,500 |
| Blumenthal, Richard (D-CT) | D | Commerce, Judiciary | $6,000 | $7,200 | $0 | $13,200 |
| Schatz, Brian (D-HI) | D | Commerce | $2,500 | $10,000 | $0 | $12,500 |
| Gardner, Cory (R-CO) | R | Commerce | $0 | $4,000 | $7,900 | $11,900 |
| Feinstein, Dianne (D-CA) | D | Judiciary | $2,500 | $0 | $8,935 | $11,435 |
| Udall, Tom (D-NM) | D | Commerce | $10,000 | $1,000 | $0 | $11,000 |
| Thune, John (R-SD) | R | Commerce | $3,500 | $5,000 | $2,000 | $10,500 |
| Nelson, Bill (D-FL) | D | Commerce | $2,500 | $5,000 | $2,500 | $10,000 |
| Tester, Jon (D-MT) | D | Commerce | $0 | $5,000 | $5,000 | $10,000 |
| Cornyn, John (R-TX) | R | Judiciary | $5,000 | $5,000 | $0 | $10,000 |
| Fischer, Deb (R-NE) | R | Commerce | $2,500 | $5,000 | $2,500 | $10,000 |
| Wicker, Roger (R-MS) | R | Commerce | $0 | $2,500 | $7,500 | $10,000 |
| Cantwell, Maria (D-WA) | D | Commerce | $0 | $0 | $9,100 | $9,100 |
| Coons, Christopher (D-DE) | D | Judiciary | $5,000 | $2,500 | $0 | $7,500 |
| Flake, Jeff (R-AZ) | R | Judiciary | $5,000 | $2,500 | $0 | $7,500 |
| Moran, Jerry (R-KS) | R | Commerce | $2,500 | $5,000 | $0 | $7,500 |
| Tillis, Thom (R-NC) | R | Judiciary | $0 | $5,000 | $2,500 | $7,500 |
| Johnson, Ron (R-WI) | R | Commerce | $1,000 | $5,000 | $0 | $6,000 |
| Hirono, Mazie (D-HI) | D | Judiciary | $0 | $0 | $5,200 | $5,200 |
| Peters, Gary (D-MI) | D | Commerce | $0 | $5,000 | $0 | $5,000 |
| Grassley, Chuck (R-IA) | R | Judiciary | $1,000 | $4,000 | $0 | $5,000 |
| Sasse, Ben (R-NE) | R | Judiciary | $0 | $2,500 | $2,500 | $5,000 |
| Baldwin, Tammy (D-WI) | D | Commerce | $0 | $0 | $3,535 | $3,535 |
| Graham, Lindsey (R-SC) | R | Judiciary | $3,500 | $0 | $0 | $3,500 |
| Whitehouse, Sheldon (D-RI) | D | Judiciary | $0 | $2,000 | $1,000 | $3,000 |
| Crapo, Mike (R-ID) | R | Judiciary | $2,500 | $0 | $0 | $2,500 |
| Sullivan, Dan (R-AL) | R | Commerce | $0 | $0 | $2,500 | $2,500 |
| Young, Todd (R-IN) | R | Commerce | N/A | $0 | $2,500 | $2,500 |
| Capito, Shelley Moore (R-WV) | R | Commerce | $0 | $1,000 | $1,000 | $2,000 |
| Duckworth, Tammy (D-IL) | D | Commerce | N/A | $0 | $1,000 | $1,000 |
| Durbin, Dick (D-IL) | D | Judiciary | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Hassan, Maggie (D-NH) | D | Commerce | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Markey, Ed (D-MA) | D | Commerce | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Masto, Catherine Cortez (D-NV) | D | Commerce | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Cruz, Ted (R-TX) | R | Commerce, Judiciary | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Inhofe, Jim (R-OK) | R | Commerce | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Kennedy, John (R-LA) | R | Judiciary | N/A | $0 | $0 | $0 |
Facebook & House of Representatives
| REPRESENTATIVE | PARTY | 2014 Cycle | 2016 Cycle | 2018 Cycle | Total 2014-2018 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eshoo, Anna (D-CA) | D | $17,800 | $18,100 | $3,900 | $39,800 |
| Walden, Greg (R-OR) | R | $7,500 | $7,000 | $5,500 | $20,000 |
| Scalise, Steve (R-LA) | R | $10,000 | $7,000 | $2,500 | $19,500 |
| Shimkus, John (R-IL) | R | $4,000 | $8,000 | $2,000 | $14,000 |
| Upton, Fred (R-MI) | R | $12,000 | $0 | $2,000 | $14,000 |
| Degette, Diana (D-CO) | D | $4,000 | $4,000 | $1,000 | $9,000 |
| Guthrie, Brett (R-KY) | R | $3,500 | $3,000 | $2,500 | $9,000 |
| Kinzinger, Adam (R-IL) | R | $3,000 | $3,000 | $2,500 | $8,500 |
| Welch, Peter (D-VT) | D | $2,500 | $4,000 | $2,000 | $8,500 |
| Matsui, Doris (D-CA) | D | $2,000 | $4,000 | $2,000 | $8,000 |
| Blackburn, Marsha (R-TN) | R | $4,500 | $3,000 | $0 | $7,500 |
| Walters, Mimi (R-CA) | R | $0 | $4,500 | $3,000 | $7,500 |
| Olson, Pete (R-TX) | R | $1,000 | $4,000 | $1,500 | $6,500 |
| Burgess, Michael (R-TX) | R | $0 | $5,000 | $1,000 | $6,000 |
| Long, Billy (R-MO) | R | $1,000 | $2,000 | $3,000 | $6,000 |
| Lujan, Ben (D-NM) | D | $2,000 | $3,000 | $1,000 | $6,000 |
| Pallone, Frank (D-NJ) | D | $3,500 | $0 | $2,500 | $6,000 |
| Butterfield, GK (D-NC) | D | $0 | $4,500 | $1,000 | $5,500 |
| Latta, Robert (R-OH) | R | $0 | $0 | $5,000 | $5,000 |
| Rodgers, Cathy McMorris (R-WA) | R | $1,000 | $1,500 | $2,000 | $4,500 |
| Cárdenas, Tony (D-CA) | D | $1,000 | $2,000 | $1,000 | $4,000 |
| Clarke, Yvette (D-NY) | D | $0 | $3,000 | $1,000 | $4,000 |
| Hudson, Richard (R-NC) | R | $0 | $2,500 | $1,500 | $4,000 |
| Kennedy, Joseph (D-MA) | D | $0 | $3,000 | $1,000 | $4,000 |
| Ruiz, Raul (D-CA) | D | $2,000 | $750 | $1,000 | $3,750 |
| Cramer, Kevin (R-ND) | R | $0 | $1,000 | $2,000 | $3,000 |
| Johnson, Bill (R-OH) | R | $1,500 | $1,500 | $0 | $3,000 |
| McNerney, Jerry (D-CA) | D | $1,000 | $1,000 | $1,000 | $3,000 |
| Rush, Bobby (D-IL) | D | $1,000 | $2,000 | $0 | $3,000 |
| Schrader, Kurt (D-OR) | D | $0 | $2,000 | $1,000 | $3,000 |
| Costello, Ryan (R-PA) | R | $0 | $0 | $2,750 | $2,750 |
| Collins, Chris (R-NY) | R | $0 | $1,500 | $1,000 | $2,500 |
| Peters, Scott (D-CA) | D | $0 | $1,500 | $1,000 | $2,500 |
| Brooks, Susan (R-IN) | R | $0 | $2,000 | $0 | $2,000 |
| Bucshon, Larry (R-IN) | R | $0 | $2,000 | $0 | $2,000 |
| Doyle, Michael (D-PA) | D | $0 | $0 | $2,000 | $2,000 |
| Griffith, Morgan (R-VA) | R | $0 | $2,000 | $0 | $2,000 |
| Mullin, Markwayne (R-OK) | R | $0 | $500 | $1,000 | $1,500 |
| Bilirakis, Gus (R-FL) | R | $0 | $1,000 | $0 | $1,000 |
| Carter, Buddy (R-GA) | R | $0 | $1,000 | $0 | $1,000 |
| Dingell, Debbie (D-MI) | D | $0 | $0 | $1,000 | $1,000 |
| Duncan, Jeff (R-SC) | R | $0 | $0 | $1,000 | $1,000 |
| Flores, Bill (R-TX) | R | $0 | $1,000 | $0 | $1,000 |
| Green, Gene (D-TX) | D | $0 | $1,000 | $0 | $1,000 |
| Harper, Gregg (R-MS) | R | $0 | $0 | $1,000 | $1,000 |
| Sarbanes, John (D-MD) | D | $0 | $1,000 | $0 | $1,000 |
| Barton, Joe (R-TX) | R | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Castor, Kathy (D-FL) | D | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Engel, Eliot (D-NY) | D | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Lance, Leonard (R-NJ) | R | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Loebsack, David (D-IA) | D | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| McKinley, David (R-WV) | R | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Schakowsky, Janice (D-IL) | D | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Tonko, Paul (D-NY) | D | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Walberg, Tim (R-MI) | R | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
