Twitter Shuts Down PAC, Donates Remaining Money To Charities

Topline

Twitter has terminated its corporate political action committee, according to a Thursday FEC filing first reported by Business Insider, even as other tech companies continue to support candidates through their own PACs.

In this Sept. 5, 2018, file photo Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey testifies before the House Energy and … [+] Commerce Committee in Washington.

AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File

Key Facts

Twitter had $117,179 left in the bank, and donated half to the NALEO Educational Fund, a nonpartisan non-profit that works for boost Latino participation in politics, and the Ross Initiative in Sports for Equality, which focuses on ending racial discrimination in athletics.

Corporations themselves can’t donate directly to PACs, but they can form business PACs that are funded entirely by employees.

Twitter Inc. #PAC hasn’t donated to any federal candidate since 2018, according to FEC filings, and has only spent $750 on banking fees.

In the 2018 election cycle, the PAC donated $10,700 to federal candidates, 47% of whom were Democrats and 53% were Republicans, according to OpenSecrets.

In a statement, a Twitter spokesperson said it closed its PAC because doing so is “in line with our belief that political influence should be earned, not bought.”

Big Number

$26,200. That’s how much money Twitter’s PAC has donated to federal candidates since it was founded in 2013. All of its donations were during the 2016 and 2018 election cycles, according to OpenSecrets.

Key Background

Other tech companies have more active corporate PACs. Facebook, for example, has spent $521,520, including operating expenses, since January 2019 supporting both parties. Amazon spent $1,792,033 during the same time period.

Tangent

Twitter is in the crosshairs of Republicans before the November election. GOP members of the Senate Judiciary Committee voted Thursday to subpoena CEO Jack Dorsey about alleged anti-conservative bias. They plan to question him about Twitter’s jumbled response to the New York Post’s story about Hunter Biden. Dorsey is already scheduled to testify before the Senate Commerce Committee next week.

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