Facebook Hires Lobbyists to Push Privacy Agenda

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, 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 – in a well-meaning attempt to protect consumers – legislators or regulators would end up passing laws that would keep people from the beneficial sharing of information." Jim ­Killock, the executive director of the Open Rights Group, which campaigns for the rights of British citizens online, says technology companies are increasingly choosing to exert pressure at European level, rather than in more tightly monitored environments, such as Westminster.

"It is much easier for commercial concerns to lobby Brussels, which is distant from public attention but shapes very important legislation," he said. "Businesses will pay to make sure their views are heard, and it's difficult for citizens to match that."

Facebook's political manoeuvres mark the latest phase in the site's ascent. It is now officially the world's largest social networking website with more than 200 million users around the globe. In the process, the company has outpaced its Silicon Valley rivals, and delivered a surprise defeat to Rupert Murdoch and his social networking site, MySpace.

Technology corporations are increasingly flexing political muscle in an attempt to mould government legislative reform in their favor. In recent years, Google has stepped up its efforts on both sides of the Atlantic and the company has taken a more disciplined approach to lobbying.

That approach appears to have paid off: Barack Obama openly backed a number of internet policies championed by Google during the US EUelection and has handed Eric Schmidt, the Google chief executive, a place on his presidential advisory board for science and technology.

More recently, Google's head of global public policy, Andrew McLaughlin, joined the White House as deputy chief technology officer.