Richard Allan, Facebook's director of policy in Europe, today (24 January) spoke to Media Week following the social network's claims that it had contributed £2.2bn to the UK GDP in 2011.
Allan said Facebook has an "important part to play" contributing to the country's digital economy.
He said: "Businesses get a significant boost when they market their services on Facebook and it will enable them to communicate with loyal consumers on a daily basis and act as word of mouth marketers."
Allan revealed that the government, which has been supportive of the Digital Economy agenda, will be working with Facebook on a number of initiatives, though specific details of these have yet to be announced.
Addressing Allan said: "We think there is a recognition among policy makers they need to get right regulatory balance to protect privacy and enable businesses across Europe to flourish in the global digital economy.
"We need to have a regulatory framework that creates jobs and does not hinder it. This is an open debate and important debate, and there is no view that regulation should be allowed to stifle this sort of economic activity."
Allan's comments follow that of a speech given by Sheryl Sandberg, chief operating officer, Facebook, who outlined how the company has contributed to GDP in Europe over the past year, based on a report from Deloitte.
As well as contributing £2.2bn to the UK economy, Sandberg said the growth of Facebook and mobile applications over recent years has supported 232,000 jobs and Facebook contributes €15.3bn, or £12.7bn of economic impact to EU GDP.
She also announced the company's 'Ad Boost' scheme, which will give away up to €5 m (£4.2m) of free advertising on the social network to small businesses in the EU.
Around 50,000 small businesses, across the UK, France, Germany Spain and Italy, will be able to claim up to €100 of ad credits to use on the social networking site.
Ad Boost forms part of Facebook's six-month programme to help small businesses in Europe benefit from social media.
As part of the scheme Facebook will also be running a series of 'Facebook for Business' roadshows, run in conjunction with the British Chambers of Commerce.
It is also launching an e-Book toolkit, devised with Enterprise Nation.
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