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 suitable time for me to maneuver on from my position as President, International Affairs at Meta.”

Clegg will likely 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 International Affairs Officer, Kaplan — as Semafor —will likely be well-positioned to run interference for Meta as Donald Trump takes management of the White Home.

Clegg joined Meta in 2018, a yr 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 International Affairs, a place that reported on to Mark Zuckerberg (his earlier position was overseen by Meta’s then-COO Sheryl Sandberg).

The previous politician performed a key position in a few of Meta’s most vital and controversial choices. He publicly defended the corporate’s determination 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 major resetting of the connection between ‘large 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 position in in search of to bridge the very totally 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 yr” earlier than he formally steps away from the corporate. He didn’t point out what he could do subsequent.