Musk’s X Loses Key Exec as Brazil Ban Signals Greater Scrutiny

News Agencies September 6, 2024

(Bloomberg) — The head of global affairs for X is leaving Elon Musk’s social media service, creating a void within management at a time the former Twitter is grappling with heightened scrutiny around the world.

Most Read from Bloomberg

Nick Pickles, one of the few senior executives who made the transition to X after Musk’s $44 billion takeover, said he made the decision to depart months ago and thanked Chief Executive Officer Linda Yaccarino for her support. “After more than ten years, tomorrow will be my last day at X,” he wrote on X. “It’s been an incredible journey.”

Pickles, who joined the company in London in 2014, is leaving at a sensitive time for X and Big Tech in general. The executive is a familiar name to governments around the world and represented Twitter in dealings with many officials.

Twitter, Musk and Why Online Speech Gets Moderated: QuickTake

Last week, a judge in Brazil banned X as part of his campaign against disinformation. That move followed an increasingly heated public spat between the justice and X’s billionaire owner.

Scrutiny of X has intensified since Musk’s 2022 takeover, particularly after the entrepreneur fired thousands of people, including many involved in communications and policing disinformation on the platform.

Ireland’s Data Protection Commission on Wednesday announced X has agreed to stop processing the personal information of European users to train its artificial-intelligence chatbot Grok. X has also clashed with the Australian government recently over footage of a stabbing attack in Sydney.

X didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment after normal business hours.