Snapchat hires Washington lobbyist after user database leak

For months, Snapchat ignored a security team's request to address a couple of security holes. That changed when SnapchatDB! posted users' partially obscured phone numbers, reportedly to raise awareness. That database leak prompted the startup to acknowledge the privacy breach, and, apparently, to get into the lobbyist game. According to The Hill, the company just hired Washington firm Heather Podesta + Partners to familiarize policymakers with how the app works, as the database leak led to calls for an FTC investigation. If nothing else, Snapchat seems to have landed a powerful ally in the political arena -- after all, Podesta was once described as "the number one person you need to know in Obama's Washington."