Jennifer Newstead has advised the State Department on legal issues affecting U.S. foreign policy since receiving Senate confirmation in December 2017. | Jerry Lampen/AFP/Getty Images Technology Facebook hires Trump State Department official as general counsel

Facebook has hired Jennifer Newstead, a President Donald Trump-appointed legal adviser at the State Department, as its new general counsel as the company faces scrutiny from governments around the world over how it manages content and data on its sprawling social network.

Newstead will be tasked with overseeing Facebook's legal matters worldwide and likely represent the company in Washington as her predecessor has repeatedly done. She will replace Colin Stretch, who announced plans to leave Facebook in July.


Newstead has advised the State Department on legal issues affecting U.S. foreign policy since receiving Senate confirmation in December 2017. She was previously an attorney in the Office of Management and Budget, Justice Department and White House under former President George W. Bush. She helped draft the Patriot Act in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks.

Her hire reflects the increasingly global nature of Facebook's business and legal woes, most recently demonstrated when Sri Lanka shut down the social network after a series of terrorist attacks on Sunday. The company is also facing rising calls for regulation from countries across Europe and Asia in addition to the United States.

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Facebook also announced Monday that John Pinette will replace Caryn Marooney as vice president of global communications. Pinette is currently the vice president of marketing and communications at Vulcan, the private company created by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen.

Pinette previously held communications roles at Gates Ventures, the private office of Bill Gates, as well as Google, Microsoft and Pershing Square Capital Management.

