Meta (née Facebook) has rewarded its spokesman Nick Clegg with an elevated role as CEO Mark Zuckerburg scales back his day-to-day duties. Clegg, who had been the company’s VP of Global Affairs and Communications has been promoted to President of Global Affairs.
Clegg, who has been a loyal Facebooker and Metamate since 2018, will now report to both Zuckerburg and COO Sheryl Sandberg.
The expanded role places the former U.K. politician and Deputy Prime Minister in charge of the social media-slash-metaverse company’s government interactions and policy matters. He will also continue to lead its publicity efforts.
In a Facebook post, Zuckerburg added, “As Nick takes on this new leadership role, it will enable me to focus more of my energy on leading the company as we build new products for the future, and it will support Sheryl as she continues to focus on the success of our business.”
The newly created role comes as Meta is increasingly pulled into global regulatory and political conversations, from antitrust disputes to misinformation and privacy concerns. Just this month, Texas sued the tech giant for allegedly misusing the biometric data of its residents. The news builds on a wider anti-trust investigation from both US and EU regulators.
Clegg’s promotion means Zuckerburg can focus his attention on his metaverse dream rather than answering questions in Brussels or on Capitol Hill.
Among Clegg’s first priorities will likely be working with European regulators, who are currently drafting legislation that would limit the company’s ability to send E.U. citizens’ user data to its servers across the Atlantic. If the law is passed, Meta has said it might shut down its social media platforms, Facebook and Instagram, in Europe.
