# FollowTheMoney.org — Multi-State Contribution Search **Research Date:** 2026-03-13 **Data Source:** FollowTheMoney.org (National Institute on Money in Politics), OpenSecrets, news sources **Scope:** Campaign contributions from Meta entities to ASAA bill sponsors across UT, LA, TX, CO --- ## Executive Summary No direct campaign contributions from Meta PAC, Facebook PAC, Digital Childhood Alliance, Adam Eichberg, or Headwaters Strategies to any ASAA bill sponsor were confirmed through web-accessible FollowTheMoney.org data. However, the research identified all ASAA sponsors across four states, confirmed FollowTheMoney entity profiles for key actors, and surfaced significant contextual findings — notably that Utah's Todd Weiler has a policy of **not accepting corporate contributions** and reportedly has **not discussed ASAA directly with Meta**. **Note:** FollowTheMoney.org contribution detail tables require direct page access; the entity profile pages were identified but granular contribution records could not be scraped. --- ## 1. ASAA Bill Sponsors Identified | State | Bill | Sponsor(s) | |-------|------|-----------| | **Utah** | SB-142 | Sen. Todd Weiler (R) | | **Louisiana** | HB-570 | Rep. Kim Carver (R-Bossier City) | | **Texas** | SB 2420 | Sen. Angela Paxton (R-McKinney), Rep. Caroline Fairly (R-Amarillo) | | **Colorado** | SB26-051 | Sen. Matt Ball (D-31), Sen. Larry Liston (R-10), Rep. Amy Paschal (D-18) | | **Colorado** | HB25-1287 | Rep. Jarvis Caldwell (R-20), Rep. Meghan Lukens (D-26) | --- ## 2. FollowTheMoney Entity Profiles Found | Entity | Type | FollowTheMoney ID | |--------|------|-------------------| | Todd Weiler (UT) | Candidate | eid=6648183 | | Kim Carver (LA) | Candidate | eid=48107265 | | Amy Paschal (CO) | Candidate | eid=59901399 | | Angela Paxton (TX) | Candidate | eid=44105371 | | Caroline Fairly (TX) | Candidate | eid=59509953 | | Meta Platforms Inc | Contributor | eid=54466150 | | Headwaters Strategies | Contributor | eid=6153564 | | **Matt Ball (CO)** | **Not found** | Appointed (vacancy), limited disclosure | --- ## 3. Key Findings by Legislator ### Todd Weiler (Utah, SB-142) - Has a long-standing policy of **not accepting corporate contributions** - Returned over $20,000 in unsolicited checks in 2012 - Reportedly has **not discussed ASAA legislation directly with Meta** - First ASAA sponsor in the nation — the "clean" origin story for the bill **Significance:** If Weiler genuinely does not take corporate money and hasn't spoken with Meta, DCA's role becomes even more critical — it served as the intermediary to bring ASAA to a legislator who could not be directly lobbied through standard contribution channels. ### Kim Carver (Louisiana, HB-570) - First-term legislator, won seat October 2023 - HB-570 passed unanimously (99-0, 39-0) - DCA's Casey Stefanski testified at his bill's hearing - Meta's Nicole Lopez also testified in support - No specific Meta/Facebook contributions surfaced ### Angela Paxton & Caroline Fairly (Texas, SB 2420) - Paxton: $180,287 in total contributions for 2024 - Meta's Forge the Future super PAC reported **$1.3M in Texas expenditures** ahead of March 2026 primaries, backing "pro-innovation" Republican candidates - No specific Meta PAC → Paxton/Fairly contributions confirmed ### Amy Paschal (Colorado, HB25-1287) - $12,024 in total contributions through 12/31/2025 — very modest campaign - Software engineer by profession - No Meta/Facebook/Headwaters contributions found ### Matt Ball (Colorado, SB26-051) - **Appointed** to fill a vacancy in January 2025 (not elected) - Vacancy committee appointment process has limited standard fundraising disclosure - No FollowTheMoney profile found - **Jake Levine (Meta PM) contributed $1,175** via CO TRACER (established in prior analysis) - **Kyle Gardner (Google Policy Manager) contributed $450** (prior analysis) --- ## 4. Meta's Broader State-Level Political Spending | Channel | Amount | Notes | |---------|--------|-------| | Federal lobbying (2025) | $26.29M | All-time record | | Forge the Future super PACs | $65M budget | 4 PACs total | | Texas super PAC spending | $1.3M | March 2026 primaries, "pro-innovation" candidates | | Meta PAC federal contributions | $197,300 | 2023-2024 cycle | | Headwaters Strategies (CO) | $338,500 | Direct lobbying payments | | California super PACs | $65M | ATEP + META California | Meta publishes semi-annual **state corporate political contributions reports** on its Political Engagement page, but the specific PDFs were not accessible for analysis. --- ## 5. Limitations The following data sources were identified but could not be accessed: 1. **FollowTheMoney.org contribution detail tables** — entity profiles found but granular records require direct page access or API credentials 2. **Meta's semi-annual state contributions PDF** — would list any direct corporate contributions to state candidates 3. **Louisiana Ethics Administration Program** (ethics.la.gov) — Carver's full contributor list 4. **Texas Ethics Commission / Transparency USA** — Paxton and Fairly contributor lists 5. **Colorado TRACER** — already analyzed for Ball/Paschal in prior research (Levine finding) --- ## 6. Conclusions ### What This Establishes 1. **No direct Meta PAC → ASAA sponsor contributions** were confirmed across four states 2. **Todd Weiler does not accept corporate contributions** — DCA served as the policy intermediary, not campaign contributions 3. **Meta's influence operates through lobbying and advocacy channels**, not traditional campaign contributions to bill sponsors 4. **Forge the Future super PAC** spent $1.3M in Texas ahead of 2026 primaries 5. **Matt Ball's appointment** (not election) means he was less susceptible to contribution-based influence — the Levine contribution is notable but post-appointment ### The Influence Model The absence of direct contributions to ASAA sponsors actually **clarifies Meta's strategy**: it does not need to buy legislators. Instead: 1. **DCA provides the policy template** and grassroots advocacy pressure 2. **State lobbyists** (Headwaters, Pelican State) provide direct legislative access 3. **DCA coalition members** (Heritage, NCOSE, Moms for Liberty) provide bipartisan political cover 4. **Super PACs** support broadly "pro-innovation" candidates, not ASAA-specific sponsors 5. **The bills pass on policy merits** as framed by DCA — legislators don't need to be paid when they believe they're protecting children --- ## Sources - FollowTheMoney.org Entity Profiles: https://www.followthemoney.org/entity-details?eid=54466150 (Meta) - FollowTheMoney.org Headwaters: https://www.followthemoney.org/entity-details?eid=6153564 - Deseret News Meta-DCA: https://www.deseret.com/opinion/2025/12/07/child-safety-bill-backed-by-meta/ - The Center Square (Stefanski testimony): https://www.thecentersquare.com/louisiana/article_e97200f8-13d0-4b1f-90a9-e9a7093d329f.html - Meta Political Engagement: https://about.meta.com/facebook-political-engagement/ - OpenSecrets Headwaters: https://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/headwaters-strategies/recipients?id=D000074493