It’s no secret that the world’s largest tech companies are doing everything they can to cozy up to the new administration and Congress in Washington, but they’re also making their presence felt in state houses around the country – and Rhode Island is no exception.
Apple, Meta (Facebook, Instagram), TikTok, and Microsoft have all hired local lobbyists in Rhode Island, and it’s highly likely that Google will also bring on a lobbyist in the coming months, and they’ve got one major goal: Kill Governor Dan McKee’s proposed 10 percent digital ad tax for companies that gross at least $1 billion.
State lobbyist filings show that, for this year, Apple is paying F/S Capitol Consulting $6,000 a month, Meta is paying The Victor Group $5,000 a month, and Capitol Communications Group has been hired by Microsoft ($4,000 a month) and TikTok ($6,000 a month).
F/S Capital is run by Thomas P. Hogan and Margaret Hogan Sweeney; the Victor Group is run by Lenny Lopes; and Capitol Communications Group is the firm run by Nicholas Hemond and Peter Baptista.
The bigger picture: It’s not uncommon for big tech to hire local lobbyists, but it’s usually for bill tracking purposes. No company wants to be blindsided by regulatory legislation in one state that could catch fire across the country.
The tech companies have also been especially interested in data privacy legislation, and Rhode Island is already ahead of the curve nationally because of its passage of the Rhode Island Data Transparency and Privacy Protection Act last year.
But the digital tax proposal will be a test for how influential some of these lobbyists can be with House Speaker Joe Shekarchi and Senate President Dominick Ruggerio. McKee’s proposal is similar to a controversial law approved in Maryland, and the governor believes it could generate $20 million a year.
Something else to watch: While the tax proposal will likely be debated in the House and Senate finance committees, the big tech companies are also going to keep a close eye on the Senate’s new Artificial Intelligence and Emerging Technologies Committee, which is chaired by Senator Victoria Gu.
That committee is meeting today at 2:30 p.m. The House also has a committee on Innovation, Internet, and Technology that meets this afternoon.
This story first appeared in Rhode Map, our free newsletter about Rhode Island that also contains information about local events, links to interesting stories, and more. If you’d like to receive it via email Monday through Friday, you can sign up here.
Dan McGowan can be reached at dan.mcgowan@globe.com. Follow him @danmcgowan.