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Ten of the largest technology companies in the US spent more than $61 million lobbying Washington in 2013, according to an analysis of records filed by Consumer Watchdog earlier this week. The firms, including Apple, Google, Microsoft, and Facebook, used the money in attempts to guide the governments hand on issues such as privacy, data security, and advertising. 2013s biggest spender remained Google, but the $14.06 million the search giant put towards Washington was actually a decrease in outlay of 14.7 percent from the previous year, when it was the target of an antitrust investigation. The firms lobbying costs looked to be trending upwards at the end of 2013: after a decrease in relative third quarter spending, Googles fourth quarter expenses rose from $3.35 million to $3.98 million.