Sir Nick Clegg, the former deputy prime minister turned Meta executive, has criticised the 'TikTokification' of social media, warning that the race for short-form video content is undermining meaningful online discourse. In an interview promoting his new book, 'How to Save the Internet', Clegg described the trend as a 'cloying conformity' that prioritises engagement over substance.
Clegg, who served as Meta's president of global affairs for seven years, defended his time at the tech giant against accusations of selling out. 'If I felt Zuckerberg and Sandberg were monsters, I wouldn't have worked at Meta,' he said, insisting that social media remains a force for good, particularly for billions of users in developing countries.
However, he expressed concern about the growing power of autocrats and the battle over artificial intelligence. Clegg left Meta weeks before Silicon Valley leaders, including his former boss Mark Zuckerberg, lined up at Donald Trump's inauguration, describing the tech industry's pivot towards the new administration as 'alarming'.
On his reported £100m earnings, Clegg would not confirm the figure but admitted he was 'paid extremely well'. He now supports his wife Miriam González Durántez's political ambitions in Spain, where she is 'fomenting insurrection' through her non-profit España Mejor.
