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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