Facebook Forming Political Action Committee

Facebook filed paperwork earlier this week to form its own political action committee.

The PAC would give "employees a way to make their voice heard in the political process by supporting candidates who share our goals of promoting the value of innovation to our economy while giving people the power to share and make the world more open and connected, " a company spokesperson told congressional newspaper The Hill.

Facebook has already registered the Internet domain names FBPAC.org and FBPAC.us. The PAC would be formed in time for the 2012 elections.

According to The Hill, the company has spent $550,000 on lobbying in 2011. It spent $350,000 on lobbying in 2010, and $200,000 in 2009.

Much of Facebook's lobbying has been geared towards net neutrality and privacy issues, reports the San Francisco Chronicle.

The firm has also upped its political weight with hires such as former Treasury Department chief of staff Sheryl Sandberg, former George W. Bush administration official Joel Kaplan and Meg Whitman's communications chief during her California gubernatorial campaign, Tucker Bounds, notes The Chronicle.