A number of commentators in posts about Zuckerberg’s testimony to Congress have noted that Facebook has made campaign contributions to more than a few of those questioning him …
And it’s true: Facebook has, over the last 12 years, made campaign contributions to Democrats and Republicans alike, totalling some $7M.
But if there was any question whether such contributions led to legislators going easy on the company, the answer appears to be, mostly, no.
The Verge has a complete list of the total contributions each senator and member of the House has received from Facebook in the last four years. It did note one comment that might be said to have been influenced by the social network’s largesse.
But in general, there didn’t appear to be any correlation between campaign contributions and the questions posed.
The site notes that any tendency to treat Facebook with kid gloves was along party lines, with ‘small-government Republicans’ giving the company the easiest ride.
Photo: Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP Photo
