Meta Platforms, Facebook's parent company, has appointed a company vice president as chief information security officer (CISO), the first person to hold that position in the social network business.
Guy Rosen, who has been with Facebook since 2013 and most recently led the company's product safety and integrity efforts, stated on Twitter that in his new role, he "will continue to oversee and look across the breadth of safety & security risks the people who use our services, our company and industry face."
This is Facebook's first CISO position. In October 2021, Facebook was rebranded Meta Platforms, but its social networking app retained the name "Facebook"
In a memo obtained by Reuters, Meta Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg said he had requested Rosen to take over the post and that it was "another step to elevate this security work in our DNA - and strengthen our leadership and governance on security issues."
Rosen "will have overall accountability for safety and security around on-platform abuse as well as the security of our products, infrastructure and company information - focused on both internal and external risks," under his amplified job, according to Zuckerberg.
Rosen's promotion comes only days after Meta's Chief Operating Officer, Sheryl Sandberg, stepped down.
Sandberg joined Facebook in early 2008 as Facebook CEO and co-founder Mark Zuckerberg's No. 2 and helped turn the company into an advertising behemoth and one of the most powerful corporations in the internet sector, with a market cap that once reached $1 trillion.
This fall, Javier Olivan, the company's chief growth officer, will take over as COO. Sandberg will remain on Meta's board of directors, as she notified Zuckerberg of her decision over the weekend.
"Over the next few months, Mark and I will transition my direct reports," Sandberg said in a lengthy Facebook post discussing stepping down. Meta is also planning an internal reorganization to go along with the change, Zuckerberg said.
"Looking forward, I don't plan to replace Sheryl's role in our existing structure. I'm not sure that would be possible since she's a superstar who defined the COO role in her own unique way," Zuckerberg said in a Facebook post.
In recent years, Meta has been under fire for its huge reach, failure to restrict the spread of disinformation and dangerous material, and acquisitions of one-time competitors like Instagram and WhatsApp.
In the previous three years, Zuckerberg and other executives have been obliged to appear in front of Congress several times, though Sandberg has mainly avoided the spotlight.
