Google hiring 12 lobbying firms as FTC readies antitrust probe

[Geee]

TheHill:

Google said Friday it will hire a dozen new lobbying firms in a sign the search giant is taking the Federal Trade Commission’s upcoming antitrust investigation seriously.

“We have a strong story to tell about our business and we’ve sought out the best talent we can find to help tell it,” said a Google spokesperson via email.

News broke last week that the FTC has subpoenaed documents for an upcoming investigation into whether Google has abused its dominance of the search market, the first broad antitrust probe of the firm. In response Google has retained a host of Washington lobbying firms to give lawmakers their view on issues such as privacy, copyright enforcement and competition in the search market.

The firms in question are Akin, Gump; Bingham; Capitol Legislative Strategies; Chesapeake Group; Crossroads Strategies; Gephardt Group; Holland & Knight; Normandy Group; Prime Policy; The First Group; The Madison Group; and the Raben Group.
Most of the firms have yet to register on behalf of Google, but will do so in the coming days. Google has drawn scrutiny recently on a host of issues, which helps explain the lobbying blitz.