Meta Platforms chief executive Mark Zuckerberg said in a Facebook post on Wednesday that he had promoted policy chief Nick Clegg to a larger role in all policy matters, signalling decreased involvement by Mr Zuckerberg in the area.
“We need a senior leader at the level of myself [for our products] and Sheryl [for our business] who can lead and represent us for all of our policy issues globally,” Mr Zuckerberg wrote, referring to Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg.
Mr Clegg, who served as the UK's deputy prime minister from 2010 to 2015, joined Facebook in 2018 to run its global policy organisation.
He has taken the lead on issues such as Facebook's content policy and elections and spearheaded its establishment of the company's independent content oversight board.
“Nick will now lead our company on all our policy matters, including how we interact with governments as they consider adopting new policies and regulations as well as how we make the case publicly for our products and our work,” Mr Zuckerberg said in the post.
The company's chief executive said the change would allow him to focus more on leading the company as it builds new products while Ms Sandberg focuses on the success of its business.
Mr Nick Clegg's elevation to the role of “president, global affairs” means he will report to both Mr Zuckerberg and Ms Sandberg.
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Mr Clegg will also be given the task of handling regulatory issues as the company focuses on building the metaverse, a futuristic idea of immersive virtual environments.
“The next few years will be a crucial time for our company and our industry as new rules for the internet are written all over the world, and as we set out on our journey to help build the metaverse,” Ms Sandberg wrote in a post.