SAN FRANCISCO, June 15 (Xinhua) -- Facebook has hired Joe Lockhart, who was former U.S. President Bill Clinton's press secretary during the last two years of his second term, as the social network company's vice president of global communications, U.S. media reported on Wednesday.

Lockhart, 51, will report to Elliot Schrage, Facebook's current vice president of global communications, marketing and public policy, The Wall Street Journal said in a report.

"His experience building and running a press office at the White House gives him particular appreciation for the demands of a global 24-hour news cycle and the challenges of responding effectively to intense scrutiny," Schrage said of Lockhart's arrival.

Lockhart will start at Facebook on July 15 and will move from Washington D.C. to Facebook's headquarters in California.

Lockhart is the latest Washington insider to join Facebook as the world's largest social networking site is facing intense scrutiny for its privacy practices and growing global presence, The Wall Street Journal pointed out.

Last year, Facebook also hired White House economic adviser Marne Levine to serve as its vice president of global public policy.

More recently, Facebook hired former Bush administration officials Joel Kaplan as its vice president for U.S. public policy, and Myriah Jordan, who will become a policy manager focusing on congressional relations.