Roy L. Austin, Jr. is Meta’s VP of Civil Rights and Deputy General Counsel, a role that is the first of its kind in the tech industry and one that is incredibly important for Meta. Prior to joining Meta, Roy was a partner with the law firms of Harris, Wiltshire & Grannis LLP and McDermott Will & Emery where he primarily practiced criminal defense, civil, and civil rights litigation. He also has experience as: an Honors Trial Attorney with the Criminal Section of the Civil Rights Division where he investigated and prosecuted hate crime and police brutality cases around the country;
Deputy Assistant Attorney General (DAAG), Civil Rights Division, U.S. Department of Justice where he supervised the Criminal Section, and the Special Litigation Section’s law enforcement (police departments, corrections and juvenile justice) portfolio; and as the White House Domestic Policy Council’s Deputy Assistant to the President for the Office of Urban Affairs, Justice and Opportunity where he co-authored a report on Big Data and Civil Rights, worked with the President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing, helped develop the Police Data Initiative, worked on the expansion of reentry assistance, and was a member of President Obama’s My Brother’s Keeper Task Force.