Facebook lawyer Colin Stretch will step down at the end of the year

Colin
Stretch.

Colin
Stretch/Facebook

• Colin Stretch, a top lawyer at Facebook who joined the
  company in 2010, announced he’s stepping down at the end of the
  year.
• Stretch led the social network’s investigation of
  Russia’s 2016 election interference, and testified before
  Congress on the matter last fall.
• He confirmed his departure plans in a Facebook post
  published Tuesday night, citing plans he and his wife made
  “several years ago” to move back to Washington, DC.
• Stretch is the second Facebook exec in a little more
  than a month to announce his departure. In June, Facebook
  policy boss Elliot Schrage said he would step down after 10
  years with the company.

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Facebook lawyer Colin Stretch says he’s leaving the company.

Stretch announced his plan to step down
in a Facebook post published Tuesday night. He will make his
final exit at the end of the year.

“When my wife Alyse and I made the decision a few years ago to
move back to DC from California, we knew it would be difficult
for me to remain in this role indefinitely,” Stretch wrote.

“As Facebook embraces the broader responsibility Mark
[Zuckerberg] has discussed in recent months, I’ve concluded that
the company and the Legal team need sustained leadership in Menlo
Park.”

Stretch joined Facebook in 2010. He has been instrumental in the
social network’s own investigation of Russia’s 2016 election
interference, as federal inquiries on the matter were undertaken
in Washington. He testified before Congress on the issue last
fall.

Stretch’s announcement comes a little more than a month after
another top Facebook exec,
policy boss Elliot Schrage said he would leave after 10 years
with the company.

The announcements from Schrage and Stretch are happening as
Facebook remains steeped in challenges on multiple fronts —
including
questions about its efforts to stop further interference from
Russia, and its decisions about how to moderate
controversial user content posted on the site.