Jan 10, 2025 - Technology

Meta's civil rights team head to leave company

Photo illustration of Roy Austin against a backdrop of Meta logos. — Photo Illustration: Shoshana Gordon/Axios. Photo: Meta

Roy Austin Jr., who built and led a small civil rights team inside Meta beginning in 2021, is departing the company, Austin announced in a Facebook post Friday evening.

Why it matters: It's the first notable departure from the social media giant since CEO Mark Zuckerberg's wave of rightward moves this week, which included shuttering a fact-checking operation, loosening hate speech restrictions and ending diversity programs.

Zoom in: Austin's civil rights team had 13 members as of 2023. His departure note mentions the members will "continue their work in different orgs" within Meta, suggesting that the team is disbanding.

Meta confirmed Austin's planned exit but declined to comment further on the status of the civil rights team.

Between the lines: The civil rights group had focused on a handful of issues, including police posting fake profiles on the site and issues related to discrimination in housing and employment.

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Meta's civil rights team head to leave company

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