MICROSOFT: A Political Action Committee (PAC) is a private body that funds political campaigns via donations. Under US laws, a PAC cannot give more than $5,000 to a candidate committee per election; and the amount is funded purely based on voluntary donations. Most Fortune 500 companies have a PAC which typically donates money to campaigns which support their interests.

One such company is Microsoft, whose PAC came under the magnifying glass; following the attack on the Capitol earlier this month. As a result, the firm has now publicly confirmed that it has suspended PAC donations; until it completes its assessment of the situation. The matter was first internally discussed a few weeks ago, but has now been made public.

In an employee meeting on January 21, Microsoft president Brad Smith highlighted that although 80% of the donations had gone to members of Congress who voted to uphold the Electoral College, 20% of its PAC donations in the last four years went to Congress members who voted against the certification of Electoral College votes.

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Consequently, there have been some internal discussions at Microsoft as to whether it should pause PAC donations to these Congress members and take stricter action against “members who led that effort or who fed disinformation, in our view, to the American public”. Now, the firm has confirmed that it is suspending PAC donations until at least February 15, saying that:

Microsoft confirmed publicly today, as it announced internally on Jan. 8, that it has halted all donations of its PAC while it reviews whether to suspend further donations to individuals who voted against certification of the Electoral College. The company added that it will announce its decision by Feb. 15 after completing discussions with its employees. As Microsoft executives have said internally to employees, this is not a normal year. The company believes that opposition to the Electoral College undermined American democracy and should have consequences.

 

It remains to be seen what “consequences” Microsoft has in mind for Congress members who voted against the Electoral College, but we’ll learn more in a few weeks. It is also important to note that other big tech organizations such as Google and Facebook have also paused PAC donations for now in light of the Capitol siege.

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