According to British officials, they are investigating whether any moles may have revealed plans to use social media for police purposes to Nick Clegg (Meta official).
The UK government has launched an internal inquiry to identify ‘spies’ who may have leaked secret details about its plans to regulate Facebook to the tech giant, according to the Daily Mail. Former Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg – who recently became Meta’s new president of Global Affairs – reportedly received the sensitive information.
The paper said that the probe will be conducted at the Treasury, Foreign Office, and Department for Digital, Culture, Media, and Sport. The probe was apparently launched last week after a Financial Times article on the government’s upcoming Online Safety Bill, which aims to police social media platforms.
This report quoted an unnamed technology executive. “who has seen the proposals” about regulation – which were apparently contained in confidential letters called ‘write-rounds’ that are only circulated between a handful of senior ministry officials, the Daily Mail noted.
However, unnamed sources informed the paper that there were concerns over a leak as far back as June 2020. Clegg was said to have cited classified material from one such letter in a Zoom conference with government officials.
“We don’t know if Clegg himself is getting this information, or the company has other sources, but they seem to know what we are up to almost before we do,”A security source confirmed this to the Daily Mail. Another source told The Daily Mail that Clegg might have kept contacts from his government days, which would allow for the movement of classified information.
Prior to joining Facebook in 2018, Clegg was the leader of the Liberal Democrats party and Deputy PM in David Cameron’s coalition government. On Wednesday, Clegg was promoted to the senior leadership position – reportedly “at the level” of Mark Zuckerberg – with responsibility over “all policy matters.”Clegg was apparently dubbed “The” because of this move. “Master of the Metaverse.”
Meta’s UK legislative challenges include paying tax, liability for dangerous content and the need to pay media outlets who report their stories. According to the Daily Mail, UK Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries is urging Downing Street to include legislation to this effect in the next Queen’s Speech.
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Clegg did not comment, but a unidentified Meta spokesperson said that the company was “not aware”They denied any inquiry by the government. They denied “any insinuation or suggestion”Clegg: “seeking or soliciting documents from officials,”These claims can be branded as “absurd and false.”
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