Sir Nick Clegg promoted to tackle growing Facebook problems Business

Sir Nick Clegg has been promoted to the top of Meta, as founder Mark Zuckerberg hands over responsibility for the Facebook and Instagram owner’s growing regulatory headaches.

The former deputy prime minister, previously vice president of global affairs and communications, will become president of global affairs, which Zuckerberg said was a role at his level.

Nonetheless, Sir Nick, 55, will report to Mr Zuckerberg and COO Sheryl Sandberg. He previously reported solely to Ms. Sandberg.

Mr Zuckerberg said of the move: “We need a senior executive at the level of myself (for our products) and Sheryl (for our business) who can lead us and represent us in all of our issues. policies on a global scale.

“As Nick takes on this new leadership role, it will allow me to focus more of my energy on leading the business as we build new products for the future, and it will support Sheryl as she continues to focus. on the success of our business.”

It comes as there is a growing focus on content moderation decisions on Facebook, ahead of the 2022 US midterm elections in November. Meta has previously come under fire for the way it regulates posts on its website, coming under scrutiny for its role in the 2021 Capitol Riots.

Last summer, Meta said it was revising its rules on free speech, including changing its policy to require MPs and high-level politicians to play by the same rules as everyone else, which means that if they spread false information, they would be banned.

The company is also the subject of competition probes on both sides of the Atlantic and recently suffered a major blow when the UK monopolies regulator blocked its bid to take over an app providing moving images for networks social, Giphy. Meta is also battling attempts to make it pay news publishers more, tax claims and new EU restrictions on how it handles user data.

Mr. Zuckerberg meanwhile is trying to give his company a new direction, focusing on the “metaverse” and virtual reality. The change has yet to convince Wall Street. After Meta released disappointing numbers this month, investors slashed stocks by 26% in one word.

At a town hall meeting this week, Mr Zuckerberg called his employees “metamates”, saying one of the new company values ​​would be: “Meta, Metamates, Me”. “[This] is to be good stewards of our company and our mission. It’s about the sense of responsibility we have for our collective success and to each other as teammates.”