Facebook recruits E.U. veteran to help with tougher scrutiny

LONDON—Facebook has hired former U.K. Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg to head its global policy and communications teams, enlisting a veteran of European Union politics to help it with increased regulatory scrutiny in the region and snowballing challenges to its reputation.

Clegg, 51, will become a vice president of the social media giant and report to Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg. He described the new job Friday as “an exciting new adventure,” after 20 years in British politics.

Clegg will particularly be called upon to help Facebook grapple with a changing regulatory landscape globally. E.U. regulators are interested in reining in mostly American tech giants who they blame for avoiding tax, stifling competition and encroaching on privacy rights.

In a post on his Facebook page, Clegg described the company as being not just part of many people’s lives, “but also at the heart of some of the most complex and difficult questions we face as a society: the privacy of the individual; the integrity of our democratic process; the tensions between local cultures and the global internet; the balance between free speech and prohibited content; the power and concerns around artificial intelligence; and the wellbeing of our children.

“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,” he wrote.

It’s not the first time a major corporation or non-profit has poached a former political leader to offer clarity on the inner workings of government. After wrapping up his work as president of the European Commission, Jose Manuel Barroso joined Goldman Sachs as non-executive chairman in 2016. Former German chancellor Gerhard Schroeder went on to chair oil company Rosneft; former U.K. Foreign Secretary David Miliband moved to New York to become CEO of the International Rescue Committee.

Tech companies have been poaching British talent for years as well, though Clegg appears to be the highest-ranking departure to date. Steve Hilton, a former director of strategy to ex-Prime Minister David Cameron, decamped to California and now hosts a Fox news show. Tim Chatwin, another Cameron aide, now works for Google, as does Theo Bertram, who worked in Downing Street for Labour Party Prime Ministers Tony Blair and Gordon Brown.