God, I hate posting a Reddit comment, but this is huge. Every claim is sourced (I have not verified personally).
Edit: Well, Reddit does what reddit does, it’s been removed. Here is a github link: https://github.com/upper-up/meta-lobbying-and-other-findings
cross-posted from: https://lemmy.bestiver.se/post/985257
That’s an impressive investigation.
It would be tough to find a better example of why lobbying in the US is fundamentally broken. An entity like Meta has ample funding to break up an operation into distinct cells that do not directly interact in public forums, while tracking the whole process in documents protected by ACP. I think it’s particularly telling that Meta lobbyists are quietly nodding along legislation pushed by “grass roots” activists and that Meta’s new OS just happens to implement the technology exactly as described in the law.
It’s that sort of coordinated effort that the RICO act was drafted specifically to address, but it’s perfectly legal.
ACP?
Attorney-Client Privilege. Sorry, I should have just said it.
For anyone who might have avoided this part of the world, ACP makes communications between you and your counsel inadmissible in court. In big companies, it’s somewhat common to bring lawyers into discussions under the auspices of seeking legal advice, but primarily to ensure that if any artifact from that discussion were to be uncovered by an adversary, it couldn’t be used in a lawsuit.
@frizop @disorderly Anal cleaning products.