Nevermind the hack: Snapchat hires lobbyists
Snapchat remains mum on specifics of how it plans to prevent another database breach, but it has already hired a Washington lobby firm.
Following the high-profile database hack that revealed the partially redacted personal data of its users, Snapchat has hired a political lobbying firm.
Snapchat has hired Heather Podesta and Partners, a Washington, D.C., lobbying firm, to promote policies favorable to the company on Capitol Hill, according to disclosure forms filed January 1. It is the first lobbying firm that Snapchat has hired.
Lobbyists from the firm working for Snapchat include Heather Podesta, an experienced lobbyist and former Hill staffer; former Judiciary Committee lawyer and US attorney Eric Rosen; and Benjamin Klein, also a former Hill staff member.
Podesta's firm will focus on digital and online protection issues and "educating policymakers regarding the application's operation and practice," reported political blog The Hill.
Snapchat co-founder Evan Spiegel said on Twitter about the database hack that he blames the hackers, and not measures that Snapchat had taken to prevent breaches.
"We thought we had done enough to prevent abuse -- tough balance between helping people find friends and securing the service," he wrote on January 3.
It's not clear at this time whether Podesta's firm was hired in response to the breach, or coincidentally paperwork was filed just after it happened. A request for comment was not returned by Snapchat. CNET will update the story when we hear back from the company.