Former Republican White House staffer Joel Kaplan just became Meta Platforms Inc.’s global policy head as Britain’s former deputy prime minister, Nick Clegg, leaves the company after six years.
Clegg (pictured, center), who led the Liberal Democrat Party from 2007 to 2015, joined Meta – then Facebook Inc. – in 2018 as vice president of global affairs and communications, becoming the president of global affairs in 2022. His initial appointment came during a torrid period for Meta, which was dealing with the fallout from the Cambridge Analytica scandal. He went on to play a major part in establishing the company’s Oversight Board, helping to take some heat off Meta during an era of torrents of bad press.
“My time at the company coincided with a significant resetting of the relationship between ‘big tech’ and the societal pressures manifested in new laws, institutions and norms affecting the sector,” Clegg wrote in a Facebook post. “I hope I have played some role in seeking to bridge the very different worlds of tech and politics – worlds that will continue to interact in unpredictable ways across the globe.”
He said it was the “right time” for him to leave, saying he’ll be now “handing over the reins” to Kaplan, who “is quite clearly the right person for the right job at the right time.” Kaplan was the White House deputy chief of staff during George W. Bush’s administration. He joined Meta in 2011 and has since become known as the company’s defender of conservative voices, promoting the interests of conservative media at a time when the company was being accused of harboring bias against such voices.
It’s no surprise that with the incoming Donald Trump as U.S. president, this new appointment has been made. Meta’s Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg hasn’t always had a smooth relationship with Trump, becoming one of the social media companies to stir his ire with a ban after the chaos on Capitol Hill on Jan. 6. But lately there have been plenty of signs that Zuckerberg and Trump have become friendly. The two met at Mar-a-Lago recently, following a $1 million donation to Donald Trump’s inaugural fund.
“You’ve made an important impact advancing Meta’s voice and values around the world, as well as our vision for AI and the metaverse,” Zuckerberg said in a response to Clegg’s post. “I’m excited for Joel to step into this role next given his deep experience and insight leading our policy work for many years.”
Photo: Facebook
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