Facebook Vice President of Global Public Policy Joel Kaplan and Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg leave the Elysee Presidential Palace after a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron on May 23, 2018 in Paris, France.
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Facebook parents dead It replaces its head of global affairs, Nick Clegg, with Joel Kaplan, the company's current vice president of policy and a former Republican Party staffer.
The changes come three weeks before the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump, and are the latest sign of how technology companies are positioning themselves for a new administration in Washington.
Clegg, the former British Deputy Prime Minister, announced that he will step down from his position, considering that the new year is the appropriate time to move forward. He will be replaced by Kaplan, who will serve as chief global affairs officer.
Kaplan was deputy White House chief of staff under former President George W. Bush, and appeared on the New York Stock Exchange with Vice President-elect J.D. Vance and Trump in December. He also attended Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh's confirmation hearing in 2018 as a personal friend, causing controversy for the social media company.
“I will look forward to spending a few months handing over the reins – and representing the company at a number of international gatherings in the first quarter of this year,” Clegg wrote in a memo to his staff that he shared on Facebook on Thursday.
Clegg joined the company in 2018 after a career in British politics with the Liberal Democrats, and helped Meta pass stunning scrutiny, particularly regarding the company's influence on elections and its efforts to police harmful content.
Clegg also helped guide the company through the Cambridge Analytica scandal, in which Facebook shared user data with third-party political consultants. He also represented the company in Washington and London, often on artificial intelligence committees and in congressional hearings.
“My time at the company coincided with a major reset in the relationship between Big Tech and societal pressures manifested in new laws, institutions, and norms affecting the sector,” Clegg wrote.
Kevin Martin, former chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, will replace Kaplan as Meta's vice president for global policy, Clegg said in his memo. He stated that Kaplan will work closely with David Ginsburg, the company's vice president of global communications and public affairs.
“Nick: I am grateful for everything you have done for Meta and the world over the past seven years,” Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in a statement. “I have…built a strong team to carry this work forward. I am excited for Joel to next take on this role given his deep experience and insight that has guided our policy work for many years.”
Semaphore first reported the news.
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