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Roy Austin

Vice President for Civil Rights and Deputy General Counsel at Facebook

Roy L. Austin Jr. is the Vice President for Civil Rights and Deputy General Counsel at Meta.135 He took on this role, which is the first of its kind in the tech industry, on January 19.12 However, after Meta ditched its DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) efforts, Austin announced that he would be leaving the company in March 2025.4

Austin has over 25 years of experience as a civil rights lawyer and advocate.2 Before joining Meta, he was a partner at the law firms of Harris, Wiltshire & Grannis LLP and McDermott Will & Emery, where he specialized in criminal defense and civil rights law.123

His previous roles include:

  • Honors Trial Attorney With the Criminal Section of the Civil Rights Division, where he investigated and prosecuted hate crime and police brutality cases.13
  • Deputy Assistant Attorney General (DAAG) Supervised the Criminal Section and the Special Litigation Section’s law enforcement portfolio in the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice.123
  • Deputy Assistant to the President For the Office of Urban Affairs, Justice and Opportunity at the White House Domestic Policy Council, where he co-authored a report on Big Data and Civil Rights.123 He also worked with the President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing, helped develop the Police Data Initiative, worked to expand reentry assistance, and was a member of President Obama’s My Brother’s Keeper Task Force.123

Austin began his career as an Honors Trial Attorney with the Criminal Section of the Civil Rights Division.267 He received his B.A. from Yale University and his J.D. from The University of Chicago.67

Highlights

Jan 16 · linkedin

I am hiring someone to work on voting/civic engagement. Please apply/share with your networks. Thanks! https://lnkd.in/dtc754nX

Jul 28 · linkedin

We're following through on requests made by the civil rights community, academics and regulators to look at the experiences people from historically and systemically marginalized communities have on our platforms and how our technologies may impact them. Over the next few months, people using Instagram in the US may see a survey prompt asking them for their race or ethnicity. This survey is part of Meta’s broader, long-term effort to help ensure that our products are built responsibly and that our products benefit the people who use them.

For example, analysis we conduct with this information might help us better understand experiences different communities may have when it comes to how we rank content on Instagram. We are committed to understanding how people from marginalized communities experience our technologies and will continue to partner with HBCUs and HSIs.

Related Questions

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Roy Austin
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Location

Washington DC-Baltimore Area