Big Tech's shifting lobbying army

The fast-evolving internet ecosystem is changing how tech companies form alliances to lobby policy-makers in Washington. Lines are blurring or becoming more stark among different tech, media, and telecommunication companies. Telecom companies are producing content, while platform companies are exploring new services like internet connections. That means sectors are no longer staying in their lanes, and regulatory scrutiny is shifting. Comcast and AT&T, both telecom powers, are now the owners of members of the Motion Picture Association of America. Netflix recently left the Internet Association and joined the powerful MPAA — showing that it see itself more as a media company than a tech company these days. The MPAA admitted Netflix, the first streaming-first studio to join the group, after it left the Internet Association as its own membership shrinks thanks to the proposed Disney-Fox merger. Salesforce has also left the Internet Association, reflecting the way large enterprise companies have looked to differentiate themselves from online ad powerhouses Google and Facebook.