David Bridges
Highlights
- Political Involvement: Mark Zuckerberg has established a personal super PAC named META to engage politically in California.
- Regulatory Influence: The PAC aims to support candidates who promote policies favorable to California’s AI development.
- Industry Context: Meta’s move reflects a broader trend in Silicon Valley where tech leaders are increasingly politically active.
- Unique Structure: Unlike traditional PACs, META focuses solely on Meta’s interests, showcasing a new lobbying approach.
Mark Zuckerberg, man of the (digital) people, demigod of the Metaverse, founder of the almighty Meta, is looking to get just a little bit more politically involved over the next few election cycles, a new report shows. The Verge has revealed that, in an exceedingly unusual move, Zuck has created his own personal super PAC, dubbed the Mobilizing Economic Transformation Across California, or META. In the near term, the org plans to spend tens of millions of dollars on political advertising while also backing various political candidates.
Why is Zuckerberg becoming more politically involved?
You might be tempted to think it’s because many of his rivals—like OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and soon-to-be-a-trillionaire Elon Musk—have been cozying up to political gatekeepers. Or you might imagine it’s because the man who is currently president has frequently threatened to throw Zuck in prison. In fact, it seems to be because the race for AI supremacy is heating up, and, as companies vie for leadership, it pays to have a toehold in the regulatory process.
Meta’s VP of public policy, Brian Rice, stated that Meta launched the super PAC to support candidates regardless of party who recognize California’s vital role in AI development and embrace policies that will keep the state at the forefront of the global tech ecosystem. Rice added: “As home to many of the world’s leading AI companies, California’s innovation economy has an outsized impact on America’s economic growth, job creation, and global competitiveness. But Sacramento’s regulatory environment could stifle innovation, block AI progress, and put California’s technology leadership at risk.”
What is the significance of Sacramento’s regulatory environment?
Sacramento, seat of the California government, is certainly notorious for passing legislation that actually defends the public interest against giant data-sucking tech companies (or, as Meta would have it, “stifles innovation”), so it certainly makes sense that the company would want a new lobbying arm that could defend its profits as it builds out its new AI business.
How does META differ from traditional PACs?
Zuck and Meta are, of course, in good company. Silicon Valley has become increasingly political lately, and many of the industry’s top executives contributed significantly to last year’s Trump victory. Still, Meta’s new PAC would appear to be unique in that it is exclusively lobbying on behalf of its own needs, which is a fairly unusual way of going about things. Most PACs at least pretend to be working on behalf of an entire industry or set of values. Meta’s META is just all about Meta. The Verge writes:
…while corporations and individual billionaires have donated to super PACs, campaign finance experts tell The Verge that to their knowledge, it is exceedingly rare for a company to create its own super PAC—especially a company controlled by one person. Thanks to a unique corporate ownership structure that gives him complete control of Meta, Mark Zuckerberg has essentially created his own personal California super PAC, allowing him to spend Meta’s money on politically protecting his priorities in the heart of the tech industry—and, possibly, against the interests of his corporate rivals.
Gizmodo reached out to Meta for more information. We will update this story if we receive a response.
Meta’s AI business is a little bit behind other industry giants, although the company has been playing catch-up with a vengeance. In recent months, the company has raised eyebrows and made headlines by offering gargantuan financial offers to top AI researchers.
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