Meta has made a key announcement as a part of its ongoing effort to raised ingratiate itself with world leaders, and keep away from potential authorized challenges and restrictive regulation, with present Vice‑President for International Affairs and Communications Nick Clegg promoted to a brand new position which is able to give him extra duty for shaping the corporate’s outreach and communications on this respect.

As defined by Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg:

“I’ve requested Nick Clegg to tackle a brand new place as President, International Affairs. For the final three years, Nick has managed among the most advanced points our firm faces – together with content material coverage, elections, the institution of the Oversight Board, and extra. Nick will now lead our firm on all our coverage issues, together with how we work together with governments as they think about adopting new insurance policies and laws, in addition to how we make the case publicly for our merchandise and our work.”

As Zuckerberg notes, Clegg, who as soon as served because the Deputy Prime Minister within the UK, has been Meta’s entrance man in explaining its place on numerous difficult parts. Clegg has develop into identified for his lengthy op-eds and weblog posts, which search to re-frame sure narratives. And whereas there’s an simple credibility to having such a excessive profile former politician as its spokeperson on such issues, there have additionally been questions on Meta’s strategy, because it leans into politicization and spin, as a part of its PR effort.

Certainly, a key concern on this respect is that by appointing a profession politician (Clegg served as a British MP for 12 years), that then adjustments the motivations for Meta’s PR outreach and disclosure, as a result of the motivations for a politician are very completely different to these usually adopted by a non-public firm on this respect.

For a politician, all PR is about successful, about framing the opposition as detrimental, and diluting their factors, whereas additionally highlighting the positives of your individual insurance policies and stances, usually in a very biased and particularly angled method.

For Meta, that’s not essentially factor, as a result of that would then result in it downplaying detrimental reviews and insights, with the intention to ‘win’ by showcasing advantages, or at least, watering down such criticism.

In Meta’s case, in working the most important inter-connected community of people in historical past, it has big potential to affect key parts, and trigger seismic shifts within the political panorama, whereas additionally facilitating misinformation and different potential harms on an enormous scale.

We all know this, and we additionally know that Clegg’s place on such to this point has certainly been to play it down, and level to conflicting proof as a way to deflect duty and counter scrutiny.

Is {that a} good factor? Ought to Meta be seeking to deflect and redirect, when it could possibly be taking a deeper have a look at its operations as a substitute, and addressing these key considerations, reasonably than avoiding them?

That’ll be an excellent greater query within the coming metaverse shift, with many individuals already elevating considerations concerning the potential harms of harassment and abuse in these extra immersive digital areas. If something, Meta’s instruments will doubtless have much more affect transferring ahead, and as such, it would must be held accountable, and pushed to deal with these points, reasonably than minimizing them because it seeks to dominate the following tech area.

Meta needs to ‘transfer quick’ and ‘construct superior issues’, however that additionally requires deeper consideration of the impacts of such too, and whereas Clegg could also be good at rebutting claims, that is probably not the very best strategy.

However Meta can also be a non-public firm, and as such, it might probably take no matter strategy it deems slot in countering such narratives.

Zuckerberg says that Clegg’s new appointment will allow him to focus extra vitality on main the corporate, whereas it would additionally help CTO Sheryl Sandberg as she continues to give attention to different parts, versus each being known as upon to defend Meta’s place.

So anticipate extra lengthy essays from Clegg explaining why theories about Meta’s detrimental affect are flawed, and why the metaverse might be actually, actually good, regardless of considerations.

Which, to me at the very least, is unquestionably a priority in itself.