Silicon Valley's Voice in Washington Dissolves

The Internet Association, once branded as Silicon Valley's most important trade group in Washington, is shutting down. From a report: The organization offered no specific reason for its decision to disband, which POLITICO had reported Tuesday night. But the group has struggled with financial woes after Microsoft pulled its support earlier this year, and it has fought to maintain relevance on Capitol Hill despite being torn by competing pressures from its huge and smaller member companies on issues like antitrust. The group also faced internal growing pains under new leadership, as POLITICO reported earlier this year.

'Our industry has undergone tremendous growth and change since the Internet Association was formed almost 10 years ago, and in line with this evolution, the Board has made the difficult decision to close the organization at the end of this year,' the organization said in a statement Wednesday. It added: 'IA has made great progress on its mission to foster innovation, promote economic growth, and empower people through a free and open internet.' IA, a nine-year-old group that once called itself 'the unified voice of the internet economy,' was previously a powerhouse in Washington, even as member companies like Google, Facebook and Amazon fell out of favor on both sides of the aisle.

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