Facebook loses primary item officer, WhatsApp head as it rotates to personal privacy

Facebook, which has actually been involved in a series of scandals, is losing 2 more magnates as it concentrates on constructing a more “privacy-focused social platform.”

On Thursday, the business revealed that Chief Product Officer Chris Cox and Chris Daniels, who heads Facebook-owned messaging app WhatsApp, are leaving.

The management shuffle comes a week after Facebook CEO and co-founder Mark Zuckerberg revealed that the world’s biggest social media is focusing more on personal messaging and ephemeral material. In the future, Zuckerberg anticipated, Facebook’s users will be publishing more in messaging apps than they do on their public News Feeds.

Cox is amongst Facebook’s highest-ranking executives and has actually been at the business for 13 years. In a note to workers about Cox’s departure, Zuckerberg stated Cox had actually been speaking to him for a couple of years about doing something else however chose to remain after 2016 to assist enhance the social media.

Cox dealt with a few of Facebook’s essential items, consisting of the social media’s News Feed, and led the item and style groups. He likewise developed Facebook’s very first personnels groups and manage the technique for the apps that Facebook owns, Zuckerberg composed.

The New York Times, pointing out individuals associated with the scenario, reported that Cox and Daniels left after arguments with Zuckerberg. 

Daniels, who ended up being the head of WhatsApp in May, was obviously dissatisfied with options being made around the business’s strategies to combine Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp and Instagram messaging. Cox likewise butted heads with Zuckerberg over strategies to incorporate Facebook’s messaging apps in addition to other item concepts, according to The New York Times’ report. 

Cox and Daniels did not right away react to comment. Facebook decreased to talk about The New York Times’ report. 

Facebook does not prepare to designate anybody to right away fill Cox’s function. Zuckerberg revealed that Will Cathcart will be the brand-new head of WhatsApp and Fidji Simo will be the brand-new head of the Facebook app.

“This is an important change as we begin the next chapter of our work building the privacy-focused social foundation for the future,” Zuckerberg stated in the note.

Cox and Daniels are amongst a string of executives who have actually left Facebook considering that 2017. In October, Oculus co-founder and previous CEO Brendan Iribe revealed he was leaving the Facebook-owned virtual truth business. Instagram co-founders Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger, WhatApp’s Brian Acton and Jan Koum and Oculus co-founder Palmer Luckey have actually likewise left.

Cox published about his departure on Facebook, however didn’t discuss why he chose to leave. He did explain Facebook is “turning a new page” by focusing more on messaging and file encryption.

“It’s a product vision attuned to the subject matter of today: a modern communications platform that balances expression, safety, security and privacy,” Cox composed in a Facebook post. “This will be a big project and we will need leaders who are excited to see the new direction through.”

Originally released March 14, 1: 19 p.m.
Update, 1: 48 p.m.: Includes more background and Zuckerberg’s post to workers; 1: 55 p.m.: Adds background about other executive departures; 2: 15 p.m.: Includes post from Chris Cox. 4: 46 p.m.: Adds reference of New York Times report on why the executives left.