Sir Nick Clegg, former global affairs chief at Meta: Social media’s power paradox

Amol Rajan speaks to Sir Nick Clegg - former deputy Prime Minister of the UK and, more recently, former President of Global Affairs at Meta - about big tech, AI and the future of social media.

Sir Nick first appeared on the world stage back in 2010, when he became the UK’s deputy prime minister after his Liberal Democrats party went into a coalition government with David Cameron’s Conservatives.

After leaving Westminster in 2017, he surprised many political observers when he was hired by Facebook, now known as Meta, to head up their global affairs and communications. In 2022, Sir Nick was then promoted to become the company’s president of global affairs, where he oversaw policy and government relations.

Sir Nick subsequently worked closely with Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg for several years, but decided to step down at the beginning of this year.

And now, amid growing concerns over the regulation of big tech, the growth of AI and the future of the internet itself, he’s drawing on his vast experience from both Westminster and Silicon Valley to offer insight into what could be ahead.

Thank you to the Radical with Amol Rajan team for their help in making this programme. The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC. You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts.

Presenter: Amol Rajan Producer: Ben Cooper, Anna Budd and Lewis Vickers Editor: Justine Lang

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(Image: Sir Nick Clegg. Credit: Chris J. Ratcliffe/Bloomberg/Getty Images)