Facebook said Monday that it is forming a political action committee (PAC) for employees of the social network to make contributions to candidates.

Most large US corporations have established PACs, which are allowed to donate $5,000 to a candidate per election and up to $15,000 annually to a national party committee.

Facebook filed the paperwork to incorporate its PAC with the Federal Election Committee on Monday.

"FB PAC will give our employees a way to make their voice heard in the political process by supporting candidates who share our goals of promoting the value of innovation to our economy while giving people the power to share and make the world more open and connected," a Facebook spokesman said.

As Facebook has grown to more than 800 million members it has expanded its presence in Washington and made a number of high-profile hires recently.

In June, Joe Lockhart, former US president Bill Clinton's spokesman, was named vice president of global communications at the social network.

In September, Erin Egan, a privacy and data security lawyer, was hired to serve as Washington-based director of privacy for Facebook and Louisa Terrell, a special assistant for legislative affairs to US President Barack Obama, was named director of public policy.

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