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 parent Meta He is replacing Global Affairs President Nick Clegg with Joel Kaplan, the company’s current vice president of policy and a former Republican Party staffer.
The bet comes three weeks before President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration, and is the latest sign of how tech companies are positioning themselves for a new administration in Washington.
Clegg, a former British deputy prime minister, said he would resign, citing the new year as the right time to move. He will be replaced by Kaplan, who will assume the title of Chief Global Affairs Officer.
Kaplan was a staffer under former President George W. Bush, and appeared at the NYSE with vice president-elect JD Vance and Trump in December. He also attended Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation hearing in 2018 as a personal friendcausing a controversy for the social media company.
“I expect to spend a few months handing over the reins – and to represent the company at a number of international meetings in Q1 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 Democrat party, and has helped Meta navigate incredible scrutiny, particularly over the company’s influence on elections and its efforts to control 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 panels for artificial intelligence and in congressional hearings.
“My time at the company coincides with a significant resetting of the relationship between ‘big tech’ and social pressures manifested in new laws, institutions and norms affecting the sector,” Clegg wrote.
In his memo, Clegg said former Federal Communications Commission chairman Kevin Martin will replace Kaplan as Meta’s vice president of global policy. He said Kaplan will work closely with David Ginsburg, the company’s vice president of global communications and public affairs.
“Nick: I’m grateful for everything you’ve done for Meta and the world these past seven years,” Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in a statement. You have “built a strong team to take this work forward. I am excited that Joel will step into this role after giving his deep experience and insight guiding our policy work for many years.”
Semafor said before the news
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2025-01-02 19:46:00
