By Bobbie Johnson:Facebook is hiring lobbyists to push its agenda on internet privacy and data sharing in Brussels and Washington, as the social networking site attempts to increase its influence with authorities around the world.
The company has appointed Richard Allan, who was previously the head of European regulatory affairs for the technology giant Cisco (NSDQ: CSCO), to lead its efforts in lobbying EU governments.
The move to create a dedicated European lobby team comes after the company hired Timothy Sparapani, a former lawyer with the American Civil Liberties Union, as the second member of its Washington operation. Sparapani had previously been linked to campaigns critical of Facebook’s targeted advertising systems.
According to Chris Kelly, the Californian web company’s chief privacy officer, the five-year-old startup has been engaging in talks with government officials in various countries for some time, but its growing size and importance means it is essential they “understand our philosophy”.
He said: “There is a concern we’ve had for some time that
This article originally appeared in © Guardian News & Media Ltd..

Comments have been disabled for this post