Facebook staffer to head up Uber's policy team

Corey Owens, a manager of public policy for Facebook, will leave the social media company to lead the global public policy team for car service company Uber, he said on Friday.

Owens will leave Facebook's Washington, D.C. office to join Uber's headquarters in San Francisco. He previously worked as a director of communications and policy adviser for the Constitution Project, a Washington-based civil liberties group.

Uber is a mobile app that lets users order a ride from a nearby driver. The company has had to repeatedly battle local regulators in Washington, D.C., New York and elsewhere to offer its service, which competes with taxies. 

In a Facebook post, Owens said he is "incredibly bullish" about the future of Facebook and its lobbying team, and he is looking forward to "reshaping urban transportation as we know it" with Uber.

---