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Big Tech spent $39 million to influence state policy last yearmaking 2025 a blockbuster spending year for Meta, Google and other tech companies looking to push their agenda to California officials.
As Jeremiah Kimmelman of CalMatters explains, the upcoming election, disputes over the regulation of artificial intelligence and the growth of the cryptocurrency industry have led Big Tech to spend big on political campaigns, donate to nonprofits, and hire lobbyists.
The $39 million makes the tech industry the biggest political spender in California, along with oil and gas industrygiving tech companies enormous leverage in Sacramento, critics say.
- Catherine Braceyfounder of nonprofit TechEquity, which supports AI regulation: “There’s a question of why (tech companies) have to spend so much money. And that’s because they’re on the wrong side of history and people don’t like them very much.”
Since the start of the current biennial legislative session in December 2024, the state legislature has considered more than 50 bills that would regulate AI. Meta spent nearly $30 million in 2025 to influence politics in California, including $20 million for a policy committee it created that supports candidates who support AI deregulation. On lobbying state officials alone, the company spent at least $4.6 million — far more than any other year since 2010, when it began advocating at the state Capitol.
Crypto companies – which are relatively new tech players buying influence in the state – have also increased their spending. Coinbase spent $200,000 on state lobbying last year, including $60,000 for the California Democratic Party.
The industry’s political spending has proven significant before: Two years ago, it poured $10 million into a blitz campaign that helped knocked out then-Rep. Katie Portercrypto industry critic, from the California Senate race.
Join us in Fresno Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. to hear the gubernatorial candidates address the issues most important to the Central Valley. Register now for the Central Valley Governor’s Forum moderated by CalMatters.
Be part of the conversations driving California forward at the CalMatters Festival of Ideas on May 21 in Sacramento. Get your tickets now.
Other stories you should know
Lawmakers want audit of CA fusion centers
As President Donald Trump continues his crackdown on immigration, fusion centers may be the next battlefield between the federal administration and immigration advocates, writes Khari Johnson of CalMatters.
Established across the country after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, these government facilities are hubs where federal, state and local agencies share and review security intelligence with each other.
Advocacy groups including the American Civil Liberties Union and the Electronic Frontier Foundation have urged lawmakers to audit the facilities for privacy violations that violate state laws. State lawmakers voted last week to audit the operations of five fusion centers in California.
Defenders of one incident pointed to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents involved, who are reportedly questioning local police to conduct searches for the federal agency at the Santa Ana Fusion Center. Past CalMatters investigations have revealed that local law enforcement illegally shared registration number information with ICE or Border Patrol.
College Ready Compton Students
Although students at Compton Unified’s Dominguez High are among the poorest in the state, the high school seniors have one distinguishing feature: A much higher percentage of them are set to attend a California public university than their peers statewideCalMatters’ Mikhail Zinstein and Carolyn Jones report.
To get into the University of California or California State University, high school students must take a set of courses known as AG courses, which include four years of English, three years of math, one year of art, and more.
Last spring, 96 percent of Dominguez High graduates were AG-ready — a remarkable rate considering that 46 percent of graduating seniors at traditional high schools did not take the required courses, according to a CalMatters analysis. Looking at data from the 2024-25 school year for 1,468 public high schools, CalMatters also found that 222 of those schools posted AG graduation rates below 30%.
Schools may have low levels of AG for many reasons: some do not offer them, while others have students who have not taken a key math or science course. Only a few fields make these classes part of the graduation requirement.
Finally: Bill seeks to narrow the CEQA carve-out
A Democratic state senator has introduced a bill that would require certain manufacturing facilities located near poor or heavily polluted communities to undergo an environmental review. The proposal restores some mandates that were broadly exempted from last year’s overhaul of a landmark environmental law. Read more by Alejandra Reyes-Velarde of CalMatters.
California voices
After more than 100 yearsthe question of whether the Constitution guarantees “birthright citizenship” will come up again before the US Supreme Court, but the largely forgotten California election of 1867 has already revealed the answer, writes Brian J. Johnsona lawyer living in San Francisco.
Private foster care agencies in California demand another bailout to cover rising costs, but must first clean up their act on children who have been abused or neglected under their care before more taxpayer funds are diverted to them, writes Richard Wexlerexecutive director of the National Coalition for Child Protection Reform.
Other things worth your time:
Kash Patel’s push against California Rep. Swwell raises concerns in the FBI // The Washington Post
CA farmers were already struggling. Then came the war in Iran // Los Angeles Times
Kaiser earned $9.3 billion last year. Critics say he has strayed from his charitable mission // Los Angeles Times
How rising gas prices are changing the math to own an EV in CA // San Francisco Chronicle
After stopping viral SFOcity moves to require SFPD to identify federal agents // The San Francisco Standard
Governor Newsom issues ‘final warning’ to cities for housing violations – only one is in the Bay Area // The Mercury News
“No Kings” protests. drew huge crowds in the Bay Area // KQED
No Kings brought out protesters in the LA region; 75 Arrests Made in Downtown LA // LAist
San Diego is losing population due to a sharp decline in immigration. What are the consequences? // San Diego Union Tribune
