Meta fires senior exec after he appeared in underage sex sting video

San Francisco: Meta (formerly Facebook) has fired a manager of global community development after a video showing him in an underage sex sting went viral on social media platforms.

Meta confirmed to TechCrunch that Jeren A Miles is no longer employed by the company after a video went viral on YouTube, Reddit and other sites, featuring him in a sting operation conducted by amateurs with the motive of catching paedophiles.

The video shows two people questioning Miles, who admitted to having graphic and inappropriate communications with a 13-year-old boy.

"The seriousness of these allegations cannot be overstated. The individual is no longer employed with the company. We are actively investigating this situation and cannot provide further comment at this time," a Meta spokesperson said in a statement late on Friday.

The two-hour video was posted by an amateur group called PCI Predator Catchers Indianapolis on its YouTube page.

After the video went viral, Miles deleted his social media profiles on Facebook and Twitter.

The news came as Mark Zuckerberg elevated Meta's head of policy and communications Nick Clegg from vice president of global affairs to president of global affairs.

The move appears to shift Zuckerberg's focus on major policy decisions more fully to Clegg.

"For the last three years, Nick has managed some of the most complex issues our company faces - including content policy, elections, the establishment of the Oversight Board, and more," Zuckerberg wrote in a post late on Wednesday.

"Nick will now lead our company on all our policy matters, including how we interact with governments as they consider adopting new policies and regulations, as well as how we make the case publicly for our products and our work."