Facebook Creates Political Action Committee

facebook_logoFacebook looks like it’s foraging for more ‘friends’ in Washington with the creation of its new Political Action Committee. Zuckerberg and Co. have just filed the necessary paperwork with the Federal Election Committee. This will enable the company to legally funnel donations to the candidates they feel will further their cause.

“FB PAC will give our employees a way to make their voice heard in the political process by supporting candidates who share our goals of promoting the value of innovation to our economy while giving people the power to share and make the world more open and connected.”, said the company in an official statement.

This comes at a very opportune time for Facebook because of all the privacy and security issues cropping up in the wake of the new features introduced at the F8 conference. Facebook has often been criticized by politicians due to its policies concerning user privacy. If not careful, Facebook might suffer from more rigid regulations.

The PAC will allow Facebook to donate $5,000 to candidates during every election in addition to $15,000 annually to their favored national parties. Google already has its own PAC, and they donated more than $300,000 to various candidates during the 2010 midterm elections.

Facebook could very well match that amount or perhaps even more. Their interest in the political arena continues to grow as the company expands, and this PAC is but part of the whole picture. They have already spent a lot of money hiring political bigwigs who could easily maneuver through the political maze of Washington. Facebook’s COO Sheryl Sandberg, for example, was formerly the Chief of Staff for Larry Summers, Clinton’s Treasury Secretary. Facebook also employs people who have worked for President Bush and President Obama.

This development may have quite a bit of influence on how freely Facebook can implement its policies in the coming years, and as such be a factor in the privacy and security of its users.

When all’s said and done, Facebook is just a company that’s protecting its own interests. It’s not the only member of Silicon Valley that’s getting more involved in the maters of D.C.

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