Meta policy chief Nick Clegg resigns

Nick Clegg, president of Meta’s Global Affairs team, is stepping down from his role at the company, the executive said in a statement. tweet on Thursday.

Clegg, who has been Meta’s centrist policy chief since 2018, will be replaced by Joel Kaplan, one of the company’s most prominent Republican executives. Clegg It was mentioned in X Kaplan is “clearly the right man for the right job at the right time.” This high-profile leadership change comes just three weeks before President-elect Donald Trump takes office. The news was reported earlier Traffic lights.

“As the new year begins, I feel this is the perfect time to transition from my role as President of Global Affairs at Meta,” said Clegg. tweet. “My time at the company has coincided with a significant reshaping of the relationship between ‘big tech’ and societal pressures, manifested in new laws, institutions and norms affecting the sector.”

Much of the tech world is trying to get into Trump’s good graces before his second term. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg He donated 1 million dollars In December, he attended the inauguration fund of the President-elect, and in November, he personally dined with Trump at Mar-a-Lago. Other tech leaders such as Google CEO Sundar Pichai, Apple CEO Tim Cook and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, also reportedly dined with Trump at Mar-a-Lago after his second election victory.

By appointing a Republican to Meta’s policy team, the company could signal its willingness to work more closely with conservatives in the incoming administration. Meta previously faced scrutiny from Republicans who alleged that Meta’s content moderation was biased toward center-left politics and silenced right-wing voices. This included the company’s decision It banned Trump’s social media accounts after January 6 rebellion.

Last year, Meta made a concerted effort to appease Republicans. Meta Removed all restrictions on Trump’s Facebook and Instagram accounts On the eve of the 2024 elections. Posted by Zuckerberg in August Letter to House Republicans where he apologized for bowing to pressure from the Biden Administration to “censor certain COVID-19 content.”

Meta did not immediately respond to TechCrunch’s request for comment.