Privacy regulation and a growing awareness among consumers and businesses of what “data protection” could and should mean have created a tricky landscape in the tech world. Data really is the new oil: It’s a precious resource, and both companies and users need to be aware of how and where it is used, how it can be misused, and everything in between.
At a company like Meta, the position of privacy and data use has definitely evolved over the years. It’s no secret that Meta has some controversy around its data practices over the years. Looking to the future, is has the opportunity to build more thoughtfully.
That is where Michel Protti comes into the picture.
Protti is the chief privacy officer for product at Meta, and in that role, his focus is on assessing privacy data flows in everything new that the company builds. That spans everything from hardware to apps to tools in existing services, where he and his team craft privacy policies, run privacy reviews and more to understand and fix issues — not just to ensure products comply with regulations, but also to sit well with users.
Meta has a whole different team addressing policy questions and strategy around that, but you can consider Protti and his team the operational people on the ground, looking to ensure that what Meta does — whether it involves a new headset or Instagram — fits the mission and is fit for privacy purposes. It’s not an easy job, but it’s certainly an interesting one. And you can find out more for yourself when Protti joins us for a 1:1 fireside at TechCrunch Disrupt 2023 in San Francisco on September 19–21. Mark your calendars! The session is called “Navigating the Privacy Paradox with Meta’s Chief Privacy Officer.”
Michel Protti: Meta, chief privacy officer
Protti leads product and engineering teams focused on Meta’s privacy efforts. He came to the role with a lot of experience of Meta’s product organization: Previously, he led product marketing for Meta’s partnerships, businesses and product groups, including media, games, workplace and connectivity teams. Prior to that, he led emerging business strategy and planning across Meta’s global marketing solutions organization.
Before joining Meta, Protti was SVP of strategy and operations at Guggenheim Digital Media and spent four years at Yahoo in several leadership positions, including country manager of Yahoo Canada and chief of staff to the CEO.
Protti began his career in the tech, media and telecom practice at McKinsey & Company. He is a graduate of Queen’s University in Canada and holds an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management.
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