5 Tech Companies That NO LONGER Fund ALEC

UPDATE 12/18/14: With eBay’s announcement that they won’t renew their membership, all 5 companies on this list from October have cut ties with ALEC! Help celebrate this big win — chip in $5 today and support our work to expose ALEC.

In the last month, tech giants Google and Microsoft have cut ties with the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), a corporate lobby that secretly writes pro-business “model bills” and helps state legislators push them into law.

Google and Microsoft join more than 80 other companies that have left ALEC in the wake of publicity about its activities and agenda. The departing firms include Coca-Cola, Kraft, Hewlett-Packard, General Electric, IBM, Amazon, Dell, and General Motors.

Yet as ALEC connects corporate lobbyists with politicians to weaken net neutrality protections and limit access to municipal broadband, some tech companies that rely on these protections still help pay for ALEC’s work. Their names might surprise you.

1. Facebook

Facebook, like Google, strongly supports net neutrality protections, which ALEC has vocally opposed. But Mark Zuckerberg & company have yet to “unfriend” ALEC.

Update: Facebook announced on Sept. 23 that they would also cut ties with ALEC.

2. Yahoo

Yahoo’s two biggest competitors, Google and Microsoft, have left ALEC, so it’s surprising that Yahoo still sees a benefit to membership.

Update: Yahoo has decided to “discontinue” their ALEC membership

3. Yelp

ALEC even has a page on Yelp, where 516 people have reviewed the controversial organization. The verdict: one star.

Update: Yelp’s director of public policy has confirmed Yelp allowed its ALEC membership to expire several months ago.

4. AOL

The Sunlight Foundation reports that AOL spent more than Google or Microsoft to lobby for net neutrality – but AOL is still part of ALEC.

Update: AOL cut ties with the corporate lobby group in November.

5. eBay

eBay remains a member and funder of ALEC; its biggest competitor, Amazon, cut ties with the organization in 2012.

Update: eBay confirmed on Twitter that they’re leaving ALEC

These are just the latest big names to leave ALEC, but it certainly won’t be the last. See the full list of all known corporate members of ALEC here.