2012 will likely be remembered by tech policy wonks as the year when Silicon Valley finally learned that ignoring Washington is not an option. From SOPA to privacy to the Federal Trade Commission's antitrust probe of Google, tech companies found themselves increasingly looking to influence Washington on a number of key issues that could chart the future of both the Internet and the broader economy. Leading the way was Google, which appears to have doubled the almost $10 million it spent on lobbying in 2011 in the face of the FTC's investigation. Just a few years ago the search giant boasted a far more modest operation in Washington, following in the footsteps of other tech companies including Microsoft and Apple, which largely ignored the policymaking crowd. But news of the FTC probe prompted an about-face, as Google began hiring a small army of lobbyists in the summer of 2011 to spread its message around the Hill. Their approach seems to have worked: The FTC dropped its probe without targeting Google on the core issue of search bias, and folks around the Hill have been noticeably softer in their rhetoric toward Google since the lobbying blitz began.
The message seems clear: companies that avoid Washington do so at their peril, especially with Congress holding so many cards that could shift the landscape of the digital economy. Chief among them is privacy legislation, the threat of which is almost certainly the top policy priority for Google, Facebook, and a host of other prominent Web companies sitting on mountains of private user data. How companies can treat information collected from consumers will be one of the key policy debates of the 113th Congress, and the tech industry's increased lobbying already appears to be bearing fruit. With the departure of Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., to Foggy Bottom and the impending retirement of Commerce Chairman Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., at the end of 2014, it's tough to find anyone of note in Congress that strongly supports passing new privacy regulations. While part of that reticence was no doubt spawned by fear of another public backlash like the one that took down SOPA, it also reflects the efforts of tech companies warning lawmakers about stifling the most dynamic sector of the U.S. economy via regulation. Still, there is enough concern about privacy to engender further debate and administrative action, which means the amount of lobbying dollars spent on the issue are only likely to increase. If 2012 is the year the tech world woke up and paid attention to Washington, then the 113th Congress will be the first where Silicon Valley has a voice in Washington to befit its growing stature among U.S. industries.
Q&A On Cyberattacks Against Banks: Booz Allen Hamilton cybersecurity expert Roger Cressey recently sat down with CQ Homeland Security to discuss the rising waves of denial-of-service attacks against banks and other financial institutions. Cressey said the attacks have been launched by the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Cyber Fighters Group (QCF), a group of Islamic hacktivists trying to rally anti-American factions online. So far the attacks have caused some minor annoyances for banks, but have yet to jeopardize the private data of consumers. Preventing that in the future will require constant vigilance and foresight from the banks, which must anticipate what future attacks will look like. NSA Could Expand Thanks to Mikulski: The ascension of Sen. Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., to the gavel on the Senate Appropriations Committee should be a boon for the National Security Agency, which is based in her home state of Maryland. The NSA is one of Maryland's largest employers, and Mikulski is a strong advocate for the domestic spy agency, having previously pushed for NSA's Fort Meade to be the home of U.S. Cyber Command. Mikulski is expected to continue pushing for an expanded cybersecurity role for the NSA, a position supported by many Republicans and opposed by those that would rather not see the military and intelligence community heavily involved in domestic cybersecurity. Regardless, expect the NSA's role to expand with Mikulski's increased influence over Congress' purse strings.