Facebook hires ex-UK deputy prime minister to lead lobbying push
Bringing the polyglot, former politician Nick Clegg on board could especially help Facebook in the UK and Europe, where it faces new regulatory rules
London/Brussels — Facebook hired Nick Clegg, Britain’s former deputy prime minister, to run its global lobbying efforts, as governments around the world debate how best to regulate the social media giant. As leader of the Liberal Democrats, Clegg was at the heart of the British government from 2010 to 2015. He’s also a former member of the European Parliament who knows his way around the institutions of the EU. Clegg’s hire comes as Facebook is under fire from regulators, politicians and authorities around the world on issues ranging from user privacy breaches, to the proliferation of fake news and hate speech on its platforms. He speaks French, Dutch and German. Bringing a former local politician on board could especially help the Silicon Valley giant in the UK, where it is under investigation for letting the data of millions of its users end up in the hands of Cambridge Analytica, a consulting firm working on Donald Trump’s 2016 US presidential campaign. ‘A journey’ “The company i...
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