Tech lobbying reports barely scratch NSA issue

Tech companies have publicly petitioned Washington for the ability to disclose more about their work with the National Security Agency — but lobbying reports don’t show the industry’s giants making a play for sweeping changes to U.S. law.

Google, Facebook, Yahoo and Microsoft together spent more than $8 million to canvass lawmakers from April to June on issues like immigration and cybersecurity, according to newly released federal disclosures. But the documents also reflect they’ve largely avoided an all-out offensive on the government’s powers to seek foreign suspects’ Internet communications, tech insiders tell Politico. Only two of those tech leaders — Facebook and Microsoft — even mentioned the related laws in their latest lobbying reports. The industry’s top lobbyists say the silence speaks only to the sensitivity of the surveillance fight. “They’re engaged on the issue on Capitol Hill, more in the sense they’re there to answer questions,” one insider said, “but I wouldn’t say it’s a lobbying push.”