WASHINGTON — Growing from a scrappy underdog to one of the biggest technology companies on the planet with a huge base of loyal fans, Apple Inc. is looking for even more friends — this time in Washington.
The company, with a market value greater than Microsoft Corp., Google Inc. or Hewlett-
Packard Co., is increasingly evolving from a computer maker to a multi-product international powerhouse and a major force in the entertainment and publishing industries.
But Apple’s aggressive exploitation of its immensely popular iPhone, iPad and sprawling online marketplace for music and digital applications has raised the eyebrows of regulators and lawmakers, who worry the company’s dominance might stifle competition.
“There’s a point at which you get so big, you’re not cute anymore,” said Rebecca Arbogast, a technology industry analyst at brokerage Stifel Nicolaus & Co. “They need to understand they’re moving into an area where they’re going to be under more scrutiny.”
The company’s new rules for online publishers, for instance, already have caught the attention of antitrust enforcers. Publishers that want to sell subscriptions through Apple’s iTunes online store to iPod and iPad users are facing restrictive and potentially money-losing terms that Apple is imposing.
Some, such as Irvine, Calif., bookseller BeamItDown Software, fear the new iTunes conditions would put them out of business.
“It’s an eviction notice disguised as a reasonable business request,” BeamItDown founder Dennis Morin said about the new policy.
For Apple, such complaints are leading it to become more engaged in Washington.
Since its dramatic growth began in 2003 — the value of its shares has skyrocketed to more than $300 billion from $2.5 billion — the Cupertino, Calif., company has more than tripled its federal lobbying expenses to $1.6 million last year.
Still, Apple remains a surprisingly small-time player inside the Beltway.
Its lobbying expenses last year were dwarfed by the nearly $7 million that tech rivals Microsoft and HP each spent. Apple’s lobbying budget ranked 21st in the industry, behind much smaller companies, such as Expedia Inc. and EBay Inc., according to the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics.
While it belongs to major technology trade associations, Apple doesn’t take leading roles in advocating for industry causes. It is one of the few major corporations that doesn’t have a political action committee to funnel campaign contributions to politicians.
Apple’s top lobbyist, former Assistant U.S. Trade Representative Catherine Novelli, keeps a low profile, and its executives rarely testify on Capitol Hill. In fact, Apple infuriated some senators last year when it declined to testify at a hearing about children’s privacy on the Internet.
Apple did not respond to requests for comment for this story.
Eric Goldman, director of the High Tech Law Institute at Santa Clara (Calif.) University, said Apple needs to adopt the lobbying strategy of a technology industry giant.
“They may be used to being the little guy fighting against the monopolist, but everyone around them is looking at them as the new monopolist, and they might not have adjusted their thinking,” he said.
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