Consumer WatchDog: “Google spent a record $5.47 million on lobbying during the first quarter of 2015, an increase of 43 percent from $3.82 million in the comparable 2014 period, according to disclosures just filed with the Clerk of the House of Representatives. Comcast, which is seeking approval from the Federal Communications Commission and the Justice Department for a merger with Time Warner Cable spent $4.62 million in the quarter, an increase of 50 percent from $3.09 million in the first quarter of 2014.  The two giants were the biggest lobbying spenders among 16 tech and communications companies monitored by Consumer Watchdog. Lobbying spending soared 130 percent at Amazon, hitting $1.91 million in the first quarter of 2015, up from $830,000 a year earlier, the disclosure records show. The Google and Comcast increases came as most other tech and communications companies slightly trimmed or held their lobbying costs flat, the House records show. Google’s second highest first-quarter spending was $5.03 million in 2012 when the Internet giant was facing an antitrust investigation by the Federal Trade Commission.”