Former UK Deputy Prime Minister Is Now Heading Communications At Facebook

Nick Clegg will replace Elliot Schrage, who stepped down in June following a series of privacy scandals that rocked the company.

Facebook has hired Nick Clegg, the former UK deputy prime minister, as its head of global affairs and communications team, the Financial Times reported on Friday.

Clegg will replace Elliot Schrage, who served in the role for 10 years before stepping down in June following a series of privacy scandals that rocked Facebook and led policymakers and lawmakers around the world to question the company’s top leadership.

Clegg, a seasoned British politician, was the head of the Liberal Democrats and formed a coalition government with former UK prime minister David Cameron and the Conservatives in 2010.

Facebook faced intense scrutiny after the Cambridge Analytica scandal in May, which revealed that the world’s largest social network hadn’t taken adequate measures to restrict how developers accessed, shared, and used data from millions of users around the world.

In the wake of the scandal, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg appeared before the European Parliament in Brussels to answer questions. Today, the company risks being heavily regulated in the EU, and hiring Clegg, with his deep political connections, would help it fight back.

Facebook did not immediately respond to BuzzFeed News’ request for comment.


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