Google to drop funding for lawmakers denying election results

Google said Tuesday it would halt political contributions for lawmakers who voted against certifying the election of President Joe Biden, citing the deadly US Capitol violence earlier this month.

The move comes with major tech firms and other companies seeking to distance themselves from misinformation about the election promoted by former president Donald Trump and his supporters.

Google's political action committee, known as NetPAC, had paused all political contributions and reviewed its policies following the deadly siege in Washington as Congress was preparing to certify presidential results.

"Following that review, the NetPAC board has decided that it will not be making any contributions this cycle to any member of Congress who voted against certification of the election results," a Google spokesperson said in a statement.

Other tech firms including Facebook and Microsoft also paused political contributions after the January 6 unrest.

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The 147 lawmakers who voted against Biden's certification -- all Republicans -- are accused of complicity in Trump's attempt to overturn what was a free and fair election.

The former president spent weeks both before and after his defeat making false claims about election fraud and is facing a Senate trial after being impeached for inciting the mob that stormed the Capitol.

Microsoft said it would decide by mid-February on whether to resume US political contributions.

"As Microsoft executives have said internally to employees, this is not a normal year," Microsoft president Brad Smith said in a statement last week.

"The company believes that opposition to the Electoral College undermined American democracy and should have consequences."