Nick Clegg, former Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and current vice-president for global affairs and communications at Meta, faced a challenging encounter at the Chiswick Book Festival in London last month as he promoted his new book, *How To Save The Internet: The Threat To Global Connection In The Age Of AI And Political Conflict*. Despite the generally supportive audience, several attendees confronted Clegg on controversial issues related to Facebook’s—now Meta’s—business practices and its role in international conflicts and cultural debates.

One attendee, a lawyer involved in the legal case surrounding Professor Meareg Amare Abrha, an Ethiopian academic who was fatally shot after targeted online harassment, pressed Clegg for an apology and acknowledgment of Facebook’s involvement in spreading hate speech during Ethiopia’s civil war. Clegg declined to comment on the specific case, citing the platform’s vast user base of approximately four billion people and the difficulty of addressing individual incidents. Critics pointed out that such cases had received widespread media attention during Clegg’s tenure at Meta.

Deborah Annetts, chief executive of the Independent Society of Musicians, challenged Clegg on Meta’s use of copyrighted material by artificial intelligence companies, referencing a report highlighting the large-scale unauthorized use of UK cultural works. Clegg acknowledged that Meta should comply with UK copyright law but suggested that the issue was more complex than described, explaining that AI systems do not simply copy works verbatim but instead process content in a tokenized form. However, some creators dispute this characterization, arguing that entire works have been replicated without permission.

Clegg also defended his seven-year tenure at Meta against broader ethical criticisms, stating that he would not have remained with the company if he considered it fundamentally amoral. His remarks, however, underscored the ongoing tensions between technology companies and public concerns over content moderation, data use, and corporate responsibility.

Separately, Clegg’s post-political career includes a directorship at Nscale, a UK-based AI data centre company rapidly expanding amid increased demand for artificial intelligence infrastructure. The firm is constructing the largest AI data centre in Loughton, Essex, with an estimated energy consumption comparable to 315,000 homes. The UK government considers this development a vital step toward making the country a global leader in AI technology. Clegg’s expertise in global policy and technology leadership reportedly secured his position on Nscale’s board, a start-up spun off from cryptocurrency mining that has raised billions and is poised for a multi-billion-pound U.S. valuation.

Controversy has followed Nscale as well, particularly regarding its undisclosed links to Chinese technology giant ByteDance. The company removed references to this relationship from official documentation ahead of its planned public listing, despite previous regulatory disclosures detailing some level of cooperation. ByteDance, known for operating TikTok, has been under scrutiny in the United States over data security concerns and was compelled to divest its American operations earlier this year.

Meanwhile, Clegg continues to address issues related to artificial intelligence governance and online safety. He has publicly criticized alarmist warnings about AI’s potential to “exterminate humanity,” describing such narratives as distracting political discussions and benefiting a small group of technology corporations seeking to centralize control.

The combination of public scrutiny at the literary event and ongoing corporate controversies highlights the complex position Clegg occupies at the intersection of technology, policy, and public accountability as he navigates the rapidly evolving digital landscape.