Meta Political Engagement

Public policy decisions can have significant implications for the people that use our services and the future direction of our company. Meta regularly engages with government officials to discuss policy issues important to the company as well as share information about our products and services. In doing so, we expect all of our personnel to follow our policies, including our Code of Conduct and Political Activities and Lobbying Policy. We also provide training to our personnel and external consultants engaging with government officials to discuss policy issues on the ethical standards required in all such interactions, and expect them to always act lawfully, honestly and ethically, and abide by all lobbying registration and reporting laws in countries in which we operate.

Meta’s Vice President of Public Policy oversees all corporate political activity (including lobbying activities and political contributions) and is aided, in some instances, by a cross-functional team that includes representatives from Meta’s Public Policy, Communications, and Legal departments.

Meta’s Compensation, Nominating & Governance Committee, which is comprised entirely of independent members of our Board of Directors, maintains oversight of the company’s policy relating to political contributions, including Meta’s PAC contributions and direct corporate contributions to state and local political campaigns.

Pursuant to Meta’s Political Activities and Lobbying Policy, Meta tracks and reports on its lobbying activities in all jurisdictions where such disclosures are required, and complies with the applicable codes of ethics pertinent to registered lobbying entities. Meta also respects all guidelines and requirements regarding the hiring of former government officials, including limits on their ability to conduct certain activities during required cooling-off periods. Expenditures made for political activities are subject to the same expenditure approval matrix applicable to all Meta expenditures.

Where legally permitted to do so, either by administering Meta’s federally-registered PAC or through direct corporate contributions, we support the campaigns of candidates for public office in the United States who have certain policy stances that are consistent with Meta’s public policy views and business interests.

Under US campaign finance law, Meta (like all corporations) is prohibited from donating to federal political candidates. Since many Meta employees wish to support federal candidates who share their goal of building community and bringing the world closer together, we formed Meta Platforms, Inc. PAC (Meta PAC), originally called Facebook, Inc. PAC, in 2011. Meta PAC is regulated under the Federal Election Commission and its activity, which is reported monthly, may be found here.

In deciding which federal candidates to support, MetaPAC considers factors such as:

• A candidate’s general alignment with Meta’s public policy views and business interests;
• The extent of Meta’s presence in a given state or Congressional district;
• Whether a candidate could work on policy issues relevant to Meta;
• Political balance; and
• The interests of our employees, shareholders and other stakeholders.

Where permitted by law, Meta may contribute to candidates for state office, with the goal of supporting public policies that give people the power to build community and bring the world closer together. Our Vice President of US Public Policy oversees these contributions with the assistance of a cross-functional team that includes representatives from Meta’s Public Policy, Communications, and Legal departments. State political activity is conducted in compliance with applicable disclosure laws, including the timely filing of required reports.

Apart from these political contributions, Meta does not make any independent expenditures in support of or opposition to any candidate for office.

The personal political preferences of Meta executives, directors, and employees do not influence either Meta PAC’s or the Company’s political contributions. Additionally, a contribution to a candidate for office does not mean that we agree with every policy or position that candidate may espouse.

No campaign contribution will be made with the expectation that Meta will receive something in return.

You can view a detailed report of Meta’s PAC contributions to federal candidates by clicking the link below. This report, which will be updated semi-annually, includes contributions since 2013.

Federal PAC Contributions (2013-2023)

You may view a detailed report of Meta’s corporate political contributions to 527 organizations and candidates in states that permit them, by clicking the link below. This report, which will be updated semi-annually, includes contributions made since 2013.

State Contributions (2013-2023)

Meta regularly discloses information about our federal and state lobbying activities. These disclosures provide details on the policy and regulatory issues important to Meta, including data privacy, content issues related to Section 230, competition, trade, platform integrity, economic growth, sustainability and other areas. We believe these issues are integral to the execution of our mission and provide a framework through which our external stakeholders can evaluate and understand our approach to political engagement.

You may view our quarterly federal lobbying disclosures for the past several years, by clicking the links below. In 2023, our policy priorities covered a range of issues, including but not limited to:

• Data and Privacy: Meta is committed to giving people control over their privacy and protecting their information. We want individuals to understand what data we collect, how we are using it, and give individuals the tools to have greater control and make informed decisions. We’ve also built safety and privacy directly into teen experiences, and have developed more than 30 tools to support teens and families online, including parental supervision tools and age-appropriate protections across our technologies. We worked with policymakers to share our work and advocated for privacy regulations that protect consumers, align with their expectations, and allow for them to continue to enjoy our products and services in a consistent manner.
• Section 230: Meta strongly believes in a free and open internet, one which allows users to post and share content in a responsible manner but also respects the ability of platforms to create their own content rules. Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act has allowed the internet to flourish by creating a necessary balance between user generated content and the rights of platforms to display and disseminate that content, addressing potential harms that may come from user generated content. Meta advocated for the preservation of Section 230 and the rights of both free expression and content moderation.
• Competition: Meta’s family of apps compete against a broad set of firms for people’s and advertisers’ time and attention. Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, MetaQuest, and Messenger all face fierce competition and continue to provide valuable and sought after services and products to consumers who value the choice provided by Meta in crowded markets. The integration of our products empowers our users, helps small businesses reach new customers and grow, and benefits consumers by offering free, popular services. We advocated for policies that ensure consumers have choice and access to our high quality products and services.
• Platform Integrity: Meta works diligently to safeguard its platforms from harmful content, adversarial behavior, and malicious actors who seek to manipulate or exploit the family of apps and services. We work with policymakers and other government partners to help ensure our platforms remain safe for users to share and engage. Balancing free expression, safety, and security can be challenging. We aim to strike the proper equilibrium between fostering open communication and protecting users. Meta defends user rights to free expression on our platforms while working to prevent exploitation by malevolent parties, and we remain committed to transparency around our actions to protect our users.
• Economic Growth: Meta has been an engine for economic growth since its earliest days building community, helping businesses grow and reach new customers, and empowering millions to turn their passion and creativity into thriving businesses. We advocated for policies that put this economic growth front and center. We worked with policymakers every day to protect our content creators and small business partners, and allowed for people to continue to find new audiences.

2023: Q1, Q2, Q3

2022: Q1, Q2, Q3, Q4

2021: Q1, Q2, Q3, Q4

2020: Q1, Q2, Q3, Q4

2009 - 2019 Filings: Full Quarterly List