Sunlight Foundation: “How accurate are lobbying figures?”

The Sunlight Foundation, our ally in transparency, is currently featuring a blog of mine on the disparity between lobbying data and actual lobbying:

A closer look at the requirements makes it clear how easy these requirements are to shirk, and how much they leave out. Consider the fact that they don’t include a lot of what “lobbying” is: influencing legislation. Lobbying disclosure laws do not take into account “grassroots lobbying,” which includes urging citizens to contact their legislators to support or oppose legislation.

Click here to read the full blog, and read others posts on the Sunlight Foundation blog while you’re at it.