Facebook should be paying more tax outside of the US, according to Nick Clegg, the company's new vice president for global affairs and communications.
In an interview with BBC News, Clegg said that it was 'unbalanced' that the Facebook paid most of its USD 4 billion tax bill in the US, despite most of its users being outside of the US. He said it was the responsibility of governments worldwide to come with a 'better way to tax' businesses like Facebook. He also pledged that the company would take whatever action is necessary to make the platform safe for young people.
Following his interview with BBC News, Clegg gave his first public speech since his appointment was announced in October, speaking to an audience at the Solvay Library in Brussels. He used this speech to announce the establishment of an external body to help users challenge decisions relating to flagged content, saying that Facebook should not unilaterally make important decisions about online safety and free expressions.
Clegg also defended Facebook's business model or selling targeted advertising using personal data of users, saying that some users would be unable to afford a subscription for the service. He added that the collection and sharing of users' personal data was now 'routine' for many private and public sector organisations, insisting that this data-driven market was here to stay and that its dangers needed to be managed while preserving the benefits.
