Meta chief global affairs officer Joel Kaplan will step down next year, a spokesperson and company official confirmed to POLITICO, adding a firmer confirmation to earlier reports that he planned to leave after the midterm elections and a transition period. Kaplan joined Meta in 2011 and became chief global affairs officer in January 2025. He has shaped the company’s lobbying, public-relations and policy responses on speech, misinformation and artificial intelligence, and reportedly argued in 2016 for lighter content-moderation policies over concerns that stricter enforcement could disproportionately affect conservative views. Meta President and Vice Chairman Dina Powell McCormick is set to add external affairs to her portfolio under the previously reported leadership transition.