Nick Clegg is leaving Meta after 7 years overseeing its coverage choices

Nick Clegg, the previous British deputy prime minister turned Meta govt, is leaving after a seven-year stint with the social media firm. Clegg introduced his departure on X and Threads, saying that “that is the fitting time for me to maneuver on from my function as President, World Affairs at Meta.”

Clegg can be changed by Joel Kaplan, a longtime coverage govt and former White Home aide to George W. Bush recognized for his deep ties to Republican circles in Washington. As Chief World Affairs Officer, Kaplan — as Semafor —can be well-positioned to run interference for Meta as Donald Trump takes management of the White Home.

Clegg joined Meta in 2018, a 12 months after the British public deemed the previous chief of the Liberal Democrats unelectable. The corporate then often called Fb was trying to enhance its political relationships after Cambridge Analytica and different scandals. In 2022, he was to President of World Affairs, a place that reported on to Mark Zuckerberg (his earlier function was overseen by Meta’s then-COO Sheryl Sandberg).

The previous politician performed a key function in a few of Meta’s most vital and controversial choices. He publicly defended the corporate’s choice to not apply its to politicians and authored its public statements about and of Donald Trump’s Fb account. Extra just lately, Clegg has criticized the European Union’s dealing with of tech regulation, arguing that the bloc developments in AI.

“My time on the firm coincided with a big resetting of the connection between ‘massive tech’ and the societal pressures manifested in new legal guidelines, establishments and norms affecting the sector,” Clegg wrote in on Threads. “I hope I’ve performed some function in in search of to bridge the very completely different worlds of tech and politics – worlds that may proceed to work together in unpredictable methods throughout the globe.”

Clegg mentioned in a that he’ll spend the subsequent “few months” working with Kaplan and “representing the corporate at various worldwide gatherings in Q1 of this 12 months” earlier than he formally steps away from the corporate. He didn’t point out what he might do subsequent.