Former Deputy Prime Minister

Former British Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg rose to the level of meta-management and became head of global affairs. There he should take care of the group’s political interests and improve Facebook’s image.

Former British Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg has risen to the top of the digital group Meta. This was announced by company president Mark Zuckerberg on Facebook. The 55-year-old holds the title of ‘Chief of Global Affairs’.

In the three-man management circle of the Facebook Meta group, Clegg will be the top political official. Company founder Zuckerberg is responsible for product development and company strategy.

Co-CEO Sheryl Sandberg is responsible for the group’s financial results. Clegg has served as Facebook’s “Secretary of State” since 2018 as Vice President.

Hard times to die

Sir Nick Clegg is a former British leader of the Liberal Democrats, of which he was their leader from 2007 to 2015. In the first government of former Prime Minister David Cameron (Conservative), he served as Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2015.

At Facebook, Clegg has been instrumental in creating an independent oversight board. This organizational group was created in 2020 to make independent decisions on corporate governance. Last May, for example, this body decided that former President Donald Trump would remain blocked on Facebook.

The meta group is going through a period of turmoil. The classic advertising business of Facebook and Instagram is weakened, also because the users of the applications are less willing to disclose personal data that can be used to improve the advertising business.

On par with Mark Zuckerberg

Zuckerberg wrote in a post on his personal Facebook page that Clegg’s new role would give him more power to respond to regulatory issues in the new Metaverse.

Zuckerberg wrote that Clegg would “lead our company on all political matters.” This included relationships with governments and “public defense of our products and our work”.

Zuckerberg promised that Clegg would act on an equal footing with him and Sandberg in his new role. “Assigning Nick this new leadership role will allow me to focus more on leading the company as we develop new products for the future. He will support Cheryl as she remains focused on the success of our company.”

At the same time, Zuckerberg is building the Metaverse – a digital world in which users can meet in virtual reality.

The main project “Metaverse”

With Metaverse, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg wants to create a virtual world in which you can interact with other people in a whole new way. “We believe Metaverse will be the successor to the mobile internet,” Zuckerberg says, explaining his vision.

New technology such as virtual reality glasses allows users to delve deeper into the virtual world. The facial expressions and emotions of other users can be directly perceived and you can interact with them in real time and “realistic”.

“Instead of looking at a screen, you’d be right in the middle of these experiences,” Zuckerberg said at the Connect internal developer conference late last year.

However, it will take a few more years for the vision of the all-inclusive metaverse to be well established and pervasive. The technical requirements are largely missing and must first be created for a second life in the virtual world. In addition, there are many legal and policy issues to be clarified, for which Clegg will be responsible with immediate effect.

The fact that a former senior politician has to take care of the sometimes strained relations between the descriptive group and governments and regulatory authorities around the world is a logical move for the company. Clegg, who has moved into the highest circles for years and has already held government positions, knows all too well the political skepticism.