Facebook's top lawyer is leaving the company

• Colin Stretch joined Facebook in 2010 and has served as vice president and general counsel since July 2013.
• His departure follows the planned August exit of Chief Security Officer Alex Stamos.

Kent Walker, vice president and general counsel with Google Inc., from right, Colin Stretch, general counsel with Facebook Inc., and Sean Edgett, acting general counsel with Twitter Inc., listen during a House Intelligence Committee hearing in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Wednesday, Nov. 1, 2017.

Andrew Harrer | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Facebook's top lawyer, Colin Stretch, is leaving the company at the end of the year, marking a loss for the company as it recovers from privacy scandals and widespread reports of bad content and abuse of the platform.

"There is never a 'right time' for a transition like this, but the team and the company boast incredible talent and will navigate this well," Stretch wrote in a Facebook post announcing his departure.

Stretch appeared before Congress last fall to speak on Russian interference in the presidential election. Stretch joined Facebook in 2010 and has served as vice president and general counsel since July 2013.

His departure follows the planned August exit of Facebook's Chief Security Officer Alex Stamos.