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Big Tech looms over Minnesota Capitol as lawmakers push regulations
Lawmakers have passed social media limits and an AI nudification ban as Google, Amazon Web Services and others increased lobbying spending.
- Minnesota lawmakers are intensifying their focus on Big Tech, enacting regulations that have prompted legal challenges. In July, Elon Musk's company xAI filed a lawsuit against the state's AI nudification ban championed by Sen. Erin Maye Quade, DFL-Apple Valley.
- Lobbying disclosures reveal significant spending, with Google reporting about $152,000 and Amazon Web Services about $111,000 in legislative lobbying in 2025. However, Jeff Hauser, founder and executive director of the Revolving Door Project, warns this is only the 'tip of the iceberg.'
- Rep. Peggy Scott, R-Andover, called tech lobbyists 'tone deaf' after they argued social media features were 'habit forming' during testimony on a minors protection bill. Rep. Andy Smith, DFL-Rochester, said lobbyists made 'demands' during negotiations, calling the experience 'infuriating at times.'
- NetChoice filed suit against Minnesota's social media warning label requirement set to take effect July 1. State officials are not enforcing the law while litigation proceeds, halting implementation of the regulation.
- Nationally, Big Tech spends $226,000 a day at Congress, according to Fortune. Jeff Hauser notes companies are making 'existential' bets on data centers, with expectations of nearly $1 trillion in capital expenditure across the United States in 2026.
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Total News Sources14
Leaning Left0Leaning Right6Center7Last UpdatedBias Distribution54% Center
Bias Distribution
- 54% of the sources are Center
54% Center
C 54%
R 46%
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