Facebook appoints ex-FCC chief as head of public policy

Now that Facebook is facing the possibility of stronger government oversight, it's putting someone who knows how the government works in charge of public policy. The social network has appointed former FCC chief Kevin Martin, who led the agency from 2005 to 2009 under the Bush administration, as interim head of US public policy. Martin isn't a new recruit -- he joined Facebook back in 2015 as VP for mobile and global access policy -- but now he's replacing Erin Egan, who used to be head of public policy and Chief Privacy Officer.

Egan, a well-known privacy and data security lawyer, will stay as Chief Privacy Officer. Facebook didn't exactly explain why Martin is taking over one of her roles, but according to The Information, Egan has become less influential within the company in recent months. It's no secret that Facebook needs all the help it can get ever since it was revealed that Cambridge Analytica got its hands on 87 million users' data without their knowledge. Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg even had to appear before Congress, where he was grilled about the company's privacy practices. Martin's Republican and Washington friends could become invaluable allies to the company as it faces more scrutiny in the days ahead.