Facebook hires key defender of Bush's attack on American civil liberties

Facebook's recently-beefed-up management team includes former White House lawyer Ted Ullyot, who...

... helped coordinate the response to the investigation into the leak of CIA operative Valerie Plame's identity and serv[ed] as chief of staff to former U.S. Atty. General Alberto Gonzales. [He] will join Facebook as its vice president and general counsel next month. Ullyot, who also has had major private sector stints including as a top lawyer for AOL Time Warner Europe, is leaving a partnership with law firm Kirkland & Ellis and will relocate to the Bay Area, he said in an interview Friday.

Facebook hires general counsel as it continues to grow (LA Times, thanks @jameshome)

[#1 posted by boyhowdy , September 30, 2008 6:46 PM]

Gee, there's an auspicious bio. Bummer...and I was really enjoying Scramble, too.

[#2 posted by Anonymous , September 30, 2008 6:49 PM]

In true Facebook fashion, there is now a group called "No Alberto Gonzales, No Ted Ullyot as General Counsel".

I wonder if its founders are on the no-fly list yet.

(do they still hate us for our freedom?)

[#3 posted by Daemon , September 30, 2008 6:55 PM]

#1: You are probably correct... in a parallel reality.

[#4 posted by certron , September 30, 2008 7:17 PM]

Next thing you know, they'll release a legal brief stating that MySpace isn't torture and Friendster is just an enhanced social network site.

[#5 posted by jesushootscores , September 30, 2008 8:40 PM]

How can we help them to FAIL?

[#6 posted by Bonnie , September 30, 2008 9:07 PM]

Is this so they can deal with all of us haters who can't stand the new Facebook design?

[#7 posted by Secret_Life_of_Plants , September 30, 2008 10:19 PM]

Ever since Beacon I use Safari for Facebook and Firefox for everything else. Safari isn't worth much anyway (IMO) so I am not tempted to open another tab there and provide faceless corporations with insights into my personal browsing style.

I am not sure, but I think this 2-browser system means that everything I do cannot be tracked by Beacon, but god knows I could be wrong.

Why does everything have to suck? Why is it a constant struggle just to remain a little bit free?

[#8 posted by jonathan_v , September 30, 2008 10:39 PM]

maybe this is being done to make them look like a better acquisition to yahoo -- which had that whole mess about giving up a chinese blogger to be tortured. now they have one of the guys responsible for legitimizing torture in the us.

i bet now would be a great time to toss "fugitive nazi war criminal" on your resume if you're trying to work at facebook or google - they can start a bidding war for you over the number of people you've tortured.

[#9 posted by Cowicide , September 30, 2008 10:57 PM]

I canceled my myspace ages ago after FOX News Corp bought it. I was thinking of using Facebook... now I guess that's out.

Is Friendster evil?

[#10 posted by Thalia , September 30, 2008 10:58 PM]

There are a number of groups against Ullyot. If you're on Facebook, do join:

"Demand that Facebook General Counsel Ullyot Resign"

[#11 posted by MrSquirrel , September 30, 2008 11:15 PM]

That does it... I'm canceling my Facebook account right now, and going back to talking to my cats when I need attention.

[#12 posted by Marcel , October 1, 2008 12:35 AM]

And from here on end, we will now refer to Facebook as Mugshots.

[#13 posted by Anonymous , October 1, 2008 1:41 AM]

This is the same Facebook, mind you, which was funded as a startup with help from an investor who had direct business ties to a CIA-run venture-capital firm. http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2008/jan/14/facebook

[#14 posted by EtaWat , October 1, 2008 4:37 AM]

And yet another reason for why I'm never joining facebook.

[#15 posted by sazzamook , October 1, 2008 4:55 AM]

I joined the Facebook group, but I still have a Facebook page :/

[#16 posted by Cicada , October 1, 2008 6:08 AM]

Try to separate the person from the job here-- he's a lawyer and it was a gig. Now he's on to a new gig where he'll presumably also do whatever his employers require. Just like anyone else in that position would, unless you assume he carries a personal malevolence that'll override his actual job duties.

[#17 posted by Ryan Waddell , October 1, 2008 6:54 AM]

I'm not sure of the significance of this. Can somebody tell me why this makes a lick of difference to your average Facebook user?

[#18 posted by Baldhead , October 1, 2008 8:42 AM]

Clear evidence of how, after you climb high enough, nobody cares about what you did at your previous jobs- only who you worked for. "Oh you helped bury Enron? that's oK! Junior VP sound good? 8 weeks vacation!"

[#19 posted by voodoolock , October 1, 2008 9:24 PM]

there's yet another facebook group:

Tell Facebook to fire former Alberto Gonzales Chief of Staff

http://www.new.facebook.com/group.php?gid=41433061004

Join them all, or maybe we can merge them.

[#20 posted by Anonymous , December 10, 2008 7:54 AM]

News to facebook members. You can deactivate your account, but not truly cancel it. Facebook keeps all data unless you manually erase it before closing the door and leaving. All previous communications, such as email, etc., are still kept by Facebook.