Jan 6 (Reuters) – Meta Platforms said on Tuesday it has appointed C.J. Mahoney, a seasoned legal executive with a career in both the technology sector and U.S. government, as its new chief legal officer.
Mahoney was previously Microsoft’s senior legal executive and deputy U.S. trade representative during President Donald Trump’s first term, according to his LinkedIn page.
The company said Mahoney will start on his new role on Wednesday, directly reporting to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg.
“C.J. brings world-class legal expertise, passion for frontier technology, and deep insight into the global regulatory challenges facing our industry,” Zuckerberg said in a statement.
Meta’s former chief legal officer Jennifer Newstead announced late last year that she would leave the social media company to join as general counsel at Apple in March.
Newstead has previously served as the legal adviser of the U.S. Department of State. Under her, Meta defeated a U.S. attempt to unwind its acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp in November last year.
The appointment comes at a time when Meta faces criticism from advocacy groups and lawsuits alleging the company failed to protect young users from harmful content or misled them about the psychological harm from its platforms.
Last year, the company announced a series of measures to make its social media platforms safe for minors.
(Reporting by Jaspreet Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Alan Barona)
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