Facebook has hired the U.K.’s former Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg, as it tries to contain a slew of political problems it is facing from the Cambridge Analytica data scandal to containing fake news being spread during political campaigns all around the world. Commenting on his Facebook page, Clegg said he was “delighted to be joining Facebook.”
In the Facebook post announcing his new job as Vice President of Global Affairs and Communications, he revealed that he’d spoken to Mark Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg at length over the last few months and that he would be relocating to the U.S. with his family. According to the BBC, he will start work on Monday and spend a week at Facebook’s Menlo Park HQ before moving to the U.S. on a permanent basis in 2019.
Referring to issues around democracy and the balance between free speech and “prohibited content”, Clegg wrote:
“I believe that Facebook must continue to play a role in finding answers to those questions – not by acting alone in Silicon Valley, but by working with people, organizations, governments and regulators around the world to ensure that technology is a force for good.
I am looking forward to being part of this endeavour. Throughout my public life I have relished grappling with difficult and controversial issues and seeking to communicate them to others. I hope to use some of those skills in my new role.”
In politics, Clegg and his party, the Liberal Democrats, have been proponents of remaining within the European Union. In his statement, he said that it would be hard to leave the public debate but that ultimately the situation was in the hands of Parliament, which he’s no longer a part and therefore decided to take up the role at Facebook. It"ll definitely be interesting to see how he helps the firm in future political wranglings.
Via: BBC News