Rob Facebook DecemberPaulReuters has been losing a number of key people lately, including Rob Leathern, its head of advertising integrity. He is leaving the company to join Google, where he will serve as the company’s vice president of consumer privacy. Rob led the company’s work on political advertising and preventing viral misinformation.
Consumer Privacy
Rob Facebook DecemberPaulReuters, the former head of advertising integrity at Facebook, has resigned to focus on consumer privacy. He hasn’t specified where he will go next. He was widely known for his efforts to curb political misinformation on Facebook and protect consumer privacy. His was often the public face of the social networking giant’s controversial political ad policies. Facebook has faced criticism for allowing false statements and conspiracy theories to spread on its platform. Recently, Facebook revoked a ban on post-election political ads in Georgia, which was the state where Leathern worked in the United States. A runoff election in Georgia is set for January 5, where the results will determine the control of the US Senate.
Company’s Ad Products
Rob Facebook DecemberPaulReuters, who oversaw the company’s ad products around political advertising, announced his departure last week via Facebook’s internal network. His team was responsible for products such as “Why Am I Seeing This Ad?” and “ad preferences.” He also led the company’s commercial policies, ensuring that advertisers followed the company’s guidelines. Rob Leathern has not announced where he will work next, but he’s hinted that it will be in the tech space.
After more than a decade with Facebook, the ad sales chief is likely to take another role. Everson previously served as VP of global business at the company. His successor could be Marne Levine, who recently took the top spot in the company’s chief business officer role.
Misinformation & Fake Accounts
Former Facebook product manager Rob Leathern has joined Google as the company’s new vice president of consumer privacy. He’ll oversee Google’s advertising policies and work on protecting consumer privacy. Previously, Rob led Facebook’s advertising integrity team and worked to remove misinformation and fake accounts. He was also a vocal critic of the company’s political advertising policies.
Rob Leathern will take a proactive approach in ensuring the privacy of consumers. Previously, he worked on advertising products, including the controversial Covid-19 misinformation. Now, his new job will focus on protecting consumer privacy and protecting personal data. His move to Google comes as a relief to privacy advocates. Google recently announced it will no longer use third-party cookies in ads by 2020 and is developing new tools to help advertisers manage their first-party data.
Innovative Privacy Policies
Rob Facebook DecemberPaulReuters, the former head of advertising integrity at Facebook, will leave the company on December 30 to focus on consumer privacy at Google. His departure will force Facebook to develop innovative privacy policies to protect users. In addition to ensuring the safety of its users, Rob Leathern helped enforce Facebook’s policy on political advertising and worked to eliminate fake accounts and viral misinformation.
Rob Leathern has been with Facebook since February 2017. Before joining Facebook, he was at LinkedIn and co-founded a startup. While at Facebook, he was a leader in battling viral misinformation. His departure was a surprise for some observers, especially because Facebook has been the subject of criticism for allowing political ads and fake accounts.
Primarily Responsible
Facebook has confirmed that its head of advertising integrity, Rob Leathern, is leaving the company to focus on consumer privacy. He had been with the company for nearly three years and was primarily responsible for the company’s sensitive ad products. He also led a team that helped Facebook eliminate fake accounts and reduce viral misinformation. His departure from Facebook comes amid controversy surrounding Facebook’s political advertising policies.
While Facebook has publicly resisted calls to restrict political advertising, other tech companies have already adopted stricter restrictions. Twitter, for example, banned all political advertising. Its chief executive cited the challenges inherent in new digital systems to justify the ban. Google, on the other hand, also limited political advertising, though its limits were more narrow. Facebook officials were divided on whether to ban political ads on its site.
Final Thoughts:
Facebook’s hands-off approach to advertising has also allowed for misleading ads. A recent Trump campaign ad, featuring false accusations against Joe Biden and his brother, Hunter Biden, went viral and was seen by millions of people. The Biden campaign asked Facebook to remove the ad, but Facebook declined. The company argued that its approach to political ads is rooted in free speech and respect for the democratic process.
