Facebook Security Chief Plans to Step Down

By Deepa Seetharaman and Robert McMillan

Facebook Inc.'s security chief, Alex Stamos, plans to step down from the embattled social-media company this year, people familiar on the matter said, following clashes with policy executives and an internal reorganization that whittled down his responsibilities.

Since the 2016 U.S. presidential election, Mr. Stamos has been at the center of Facebook's response to Russian efforts to manipulate public discourse using its platform. He and other security officials often argued that Facebook should publicly disclose more details about the Russian efforts, a stance often at odds with the more cautious approach advocated by Facebook's policy team, overseen by Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg, people familiar with the internal deliberations said.

Mr. Stamos has told associates that he plans to step down in August, two of the people said.

Mr. Stamos posted a message on Twitter late Monday saying: "Despite the rumors, I'm still fully engaged with my work at Facebook. It's true that my role did change. I'm currently spending more time exploring emerging security risks and working on election security." He didn't address if he planned to step down from Facebook in the future.

Mr. Stamos is a "valued member of the team," a Facebook spokesman said without addressing the security chief's planned departure. Mr. Stamos has been Facebook's chief security officer since June 2015. The New York Times earlier Monday reported Mr. Stamos' plans to step down.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 19, 2018 22:10 ET (02:10 GMT)

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