It’s not widely known, but Meta is now officially part of U.S. national defense.
Not as an external provider or technical partner. No—as an integral part.
Nick Clegg, the public face of Meta’s global strategy, said it while speaking in London. He stated that the company is now considered “critical infrastructure of U.S. national defense.”
It’s a huge leap. And it went almost unnoticed.
Clegg criticized the European model, calling it too focused on regulations and too legalistic. He praised the American approach instead: fewer rules, more action. According to him, what’s needed is a more strategic vision—focused on security, not on paperwork.
But since when does a social media platform get to decide what strengthens or weakens democracy?
That’s the real issue—not whether he’s right or wrong. The point is that big tech companies now move like geopolitical powers. They choose alliances, make strategic investments, train AI with proprietary content, control information—and now they also claim to be part of national defense.
If Meta is “national defense,” then every citizen who shares a post, uploads data to Facebook or Instagram, or chats with Meta AI… is part of a military infrastructure?
I’m not the one saying it. Meta is.
But no one’s talking about it.