IBM Corp’s political profile, as shown in the OpenSecrets data, reveals that the company spent $4.6M on contributions and $5.53M on lobbying in the 2024 cycle. This level of political expenditure, along with notable revolving door practices among its lobbyists, strongly suggests an leveraging of financial influence to sway political outcomes, potentially favoring authoritarian policies.

IBM Corp Profile: Summary • OpenSecrets

The documented revolving door practices, where a significant number of IBM Corp’s lobbyists have previously held government positions, contribute to concerns over regulatory capture. This dynamic can enable undue influence over governance and policymaking, thereby indirectly supporting authoritarian structures.

IBM Corp Profile: Summary • OpenSecrets

The article centers on tracking IBM Consulting's political contributions via the American Democracy Scorecard, which is used to assess alignment with pro-democratic values. With increasing concerns over corporate influence in politics, especially under rising authoritarian influences, this scrutiny places emphasis on the company’s public political behavior. Although details regarding the specific allocations or partnerships remain limited, the focus on transparency and accountability in political spending is significant.

IBM Political Contributions Tracker - American Democracy Scorecard

The article emphasizes ethical sourcing as a core component of IBM Consulting’s corporate social responsibility strategy. By focusing on ethical supply chain management, IBM Consulting is actively promoting practices that avoid complicity in human rights abuses and reinforce ethical standards, which is a positive countermeasure against authoritarian practices.

What is ethical sourcing?

While the ETHICS tool primarily focuses on supply chain exposures, its capacity to identify human rights issues at the facility level indirectly bolsters labor relations and reinforces human rights practices. By providing timely insights into potential violations, IBM Consulting empowers companies to improve working conditions and protect labor rights.

IBM Consulting with Unilever

IBM Consulting's public disclosure of its lobbying expenditures and contributions over multiple years demonstrates an active effort to influence public policy on issues ranging from technology to labor and tax regulation. Although these activities are conducted in compliance with legal requirements, anti-fascist critics argue that such corporate political spending reinforces structures that can undermine democratic accountability, ultimately supporting authoritarian practices.

Contributions and Expenditures

The investigation uncovered that IBM systematically targeted its older U.S. workforce by using opaque layoff practices, forced retirements, and replacing experienced workers with younger, less expensive labor. Such treatment not only undermines labor rights and fair employment practices, but also exhibits a disregard for established human rights norms. This behavior contributes to a broader authoritarian approach in structuring labor forces, and reflects poorly on IBM Consulting’s ethical responsibilities.

Cutting 'Old Heads' at IBM

The IBM Impact Reports and Policies clearly outline comprehensive measures to ensure ethical labor practices and human rights protections, including provisions against forced labor, child labor, discrimination, and unsafe working conditions. These policies promote fair treatment and respect for worker rights, standing in direct opposition to authoritarian labor practices. This commitment reflects positively on IBM Consulting's business practices and ethical responsibility.

IBM Impact: Reports and Policies

IBM's extensive corporate policies clearly emphasize ethical business conduct, stringent labor relations, non-discrimination, and safe working conditions. These measures help safeguard worker rights and promote social responsibility, aligning with anti-fascist values by reducing abuses that empower authoritarian regimes.

IBM Impact: Reports and Policies

The scraped content details IBM's efforts to minimize union influence through proactive workplace practices and even algorithmic discrimination, as seen in incidents from various regions including China and Japan. This behavior reflects a deliberate discouragement of unionization, which undermines fair labor practices and exacerbates worker exploitation, aligning with broader concerns over authoritarian corporate practices.

IBM and unions