Facebook’s chief of business integrity and trust product Rob Leathern departed the company at the end of 2020, according to an internal company post viewed by Reuters. His departure follows controversies over the company's post-election ban political advertising.
In a post published earlier in December on Facebook’s internal network, Leathern said he would be leaving the company “to work on consumer privacy beyond just ads and social media.” According to Reuters, he was in charge of the company’s ad products around sensitive subjects such as politics and coronavirus misinformation.
Before Facebook, he spent several years in the 'adtech' and social media ads ecosystem building one of the largest Facebook Ads API partner companies.
Leathern's LinkedIn profile shows he led the company's Business Integrity product management team as Director of Product Management at Facebook from February 2017 until the end of 2020. His team works to protect the people and businesses who use Facebook’s commercial products by enforcing its policies and preventing abuse. The team built enhanced advertiser authenticity and transparency (e.g. Ad Library) for all ads across Facebook/Instagram including for ads about social issues, elections & politics. The team he led also provides "Why Am I Seeing This Ad" tools and other ad preferences and data controls for people.
