The company has formed a committee named FLIXPAC, according to Politico. Put simply, a PAC is an organization that lobbies for a certain candidate or piece of legislation. Via FLIXPAC, Netflix can make contributions to candidates in the 2012 presidential and congressional races -- up to $5,000 each.
According to congressional records, Netflix spent a meager $20,000 on lobbying the Federal government in 2009 -- but that figure exploded to $130,000 and $500,000 in 2010 and 2011 respectively as the SOPA fight took off. Throughout 2011, Netflix reported using the services of approximately 20 lobbyists.
Officially, Netflix defined itself as neutral in the SOPA debates. It never appeared on the list of companies backing the legislation. However, the US Chamber of Commerce reported receiving a letter from CEO Reed Hastings which was "supportive" of SOPA's goals.
There are a host of cybersecurity and intellectual property bills currently making their way through congress, including the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA).
Netflix could be in favor of an intellectual property bill which protects the content they license and prevents the company from being held liable for infringement.
The company could not immediately be reached for comment. How do you think Netflix will use its PAC powers? Let us know in the comments.
Update: A Netflix spokesperson denied the PAC would be used to support SOPA, and said the following in an email: