If something went wrong at Facebook in recent years, the same person always had to show up: founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Whether it was about privacy scandals, fake news or hate speech, Zuckerberg was held accountable. Logical, because he has the last word and can only fire himself.
It forced Zuckerberg into a position he doesn’t want at all: having to defend Facebook again and again. He is now moving that role to Nick Clegg. On Wednesday it was announced that the British former politician – he was deputy prime minister under David Cameron – is being promoted. Clegg has been with Facebook since 2018 as head of communications and public policy.
Within Facebook’s parent company Meta, Clegg is on a par with the duo Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg, who together made the platform great. The Brit gets the title President Global Affairs and will now report to both Zuckerberg and Sandberg.
Big change
In that announcement less than 300 words implies a considerable change. Clegg will be in charge of all policy matters – including the upcoming regulation and explaining Meta’s policies. For example, Zuckerberg and Sandberg can take their hands off complicated files.
Zuckerberg wants to put his energy into new products. He has big ambitions with the metaverse† For the time being, this is no more than an idea where the digital and physical worlds will be more intertwined. Virtual on augmented reality will play a major role in this. Sandberg will mainly focus on the business side; in that area does Meta have enough challenges.
Clegg spent years in British politics and was Deputy Prime Minister under David Cameron between 2010 and 2015.
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