Here's a fascinating chart that shows how much money the largest tech and Internet companies in the world spend on lobbying politics and influence in the United States. The chart comes from the brilliant data scientists at Statista.

The most interesting aspect about this chart is the pure growth in lobbying costs. In 2003, Google spent less than a million dollars lobbying political officials. Today, however, Google spends nearly $16 million for influence and power in Washington.

Microsoft spends $10.5 million, Facebook $6.4 million, Amazon $3.5 million, and Apple $3.4 million. Take a look: