Facebook Hires Ex-UK Deputy Prime Minister To Lead Company's Global Affairs - Sandberg

Facebook has hired former UK Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg to be the company's new head of global affairs and communications, CEO Sheryl Sandberg said in a statement on Friday.

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 19th October, 2018) Facebook has hired former UK Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg to be the company's new head of global affairs and communications, CEO Sheryl Sandberg said in a statement on Friday.

"I'm excited to announce that Nick Clegg is joining Facebook as VP, Global Affairs and Communications," Sheryl Sandberg, Facebook's chief operating officer, said in a statement posted on Facebook.

Clegg will succeed Elliot Schrage who served in the same position at Facebook during the past decade.

Clegg, who served as deputy prime minister from 2010-2015, said in a separate Facebook post that he is delighted to take the new position.

The Washington Post reported that the move comes at a time when Facebook is attempting to navigate increasingly delicate relations with governments around the world.

A recent hack and the sale of personal user information to a third-party as well as the spread of false news stories on the platform have raised concerns about Facebook's security protocols.

Moreover, Facebook has been scrutinized by various about what they call are the company's attempts at censorship.

"I believe that Facebook must continue to play a role in finding answers to those questions - not by acting alone in Silicon Valley, but by working with people, organizations, governments and regulators around the world to ensure that technology is a force for good," Clegg said in his Facebook post.

After the 2016 US presidential election, Facebook said it would take a number of steps to improve transparency, including stricter rules for ad placement, fact-checking photos, videos and links, as well as adding technology to get rid of fake accounts and improve security.

The United States has accused Russia of meddling in the 2016 US presidential election.

Russian authorities have repeatedly denied the accusations as groundless, saying they were invented to excuse the election loss of a candidate as well as to deflect public opinion from actual instances of election fraud and corrupotion.