NICK Clegg has left his top job at Meta weeks before Donald Trump becomes President.
Facebook’s parent company has replaced the ex-Lib Dem with a prominent Republican adviser.
FacebookFacebook boss Mark Zuckerberg (left) with Nick Clegg (centre) and former Facebook chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg (right)[/caption]
PAClegg with Zuckerberg in 2019 after Facebook didn’t remove posts by Trump[/caption]
GettyMeta’s staff shakeup comes ahead of Donald Trump’s inauguration[/caption]
Mr Clegg memorably oversaw Trump being banned from Facebook and Instagram following the US Capitol riots.
Announcing his departure last night, the former UK deputy PM said: “As a new year begins, I have come to the view that this is the right time for me to move on from my role as President, Global Affairs at Meta.
“It truly has been an adventure of a lifetime! I am proud of the work I have been able to do leading and supporting teams across the company to ensure innovation can go hand in hand with increased transparency and accountability, and with new forms of governance.”
He will be replaced by his deputy Joel Kaplan, who was White House deputy chief of staff under George Bush.
Mr Clegg joined Meta in 2018 after losing his seat in the 2017 General Election.
He served as deputy PM for five years as no2 in David Cameron’s coalition government.
It ended with the Lib Dems being decimated to a rump of MPs at the 2015 election.
Clegg was reportedly earning £2.7m a year in the role and bagged a £10m bonus after being promoted to president of global affairs, City AM reports.
He played a key role and was the mouthpiece for the company’s handling of the Ukraine crisis.
Following Russia’s invasion, Meta banned state broadcasters RT and Sputnik in Europe and the UK and ruled it was okay for Ukrainians to call for violence against Russian soldiers.
Clegg oversaw the banning of Donald Trump from the platform and his restoration in 2023.
That came just months after Twitter chief Elon Musk restored the former president’s access to the site after he bought it.
Clegg joined Meta when it was still called Facebook.
He went on to say in the statement: “My time at the company coincided with a significant resetting of the relationship between ‘big tech’ and the societal pressures manifested in new laws, institutions and norms affecting the sector.
APClegg said it was the right time to move on from the role despite earning £2.7m[/caption]
AFPClegg and Zuckerberg in a meeting in Paris with Macron[/caption]
“I hope I have played some role in seeking to bridge the very different worlds of tech and politics – worlds that will continue to interact in unpredictable ways across the globe.”
He added: “Having worked previously for close to two decades in European and British politics, it has been an extraordinary privilege to gain a front row insight into what makes Silicon Valley such an enduring hub of world leading innovation.
“The pace and scale of change has been as dizzying as it has been ambitious.”
Clegg faced calls to resign in 2021 after Facebook banned news on its site in Australia.
Facebook took the position in response to a proposed law from the government compelling tech giants to pay for journalism.
Clegg’s resignation also comes as the company pours resources into alternative reality devices.
In September, Zuckerberg unveiled a pair of “full holographic” smart glasses called ‘Orion’.
The augmented reality headset uses “a completely new kind of display architecture” that lets you see virtual images in front of your eyes – overlaid on the real world.
They weigh less than 100 grams, give you virtual screens floating before your eyes, and even let people “teleport” into your home.
Clegg with Prime Minister David Cameron Published: [#item_custom_pubDate]
