Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg reportedly overhauled board to assert more control

Facebook boss Mark Zuckerberg has reportedly reappointed his board of directors Throw dissenters aside and strengthen decision-making powers with the social media giant. The campaign culminated in the recent departure of two directors from the board and the appointment of a long-time friend of Zuckerberg, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday.

The move also allowed Zuckerberg to take a more visible leadership role in the company he founded 16 years ago, the journal reported. He led the company’s high profile campaign to fight the corona virus and interviewed prominent politicians and health professionals about the response.

The changes in the board are due to the fact that the company is trying to improve its reputation after three years of scandals in which the social media giant is spreading misinformation, lax monitoring of user data and official control of its competitive practices.

Zuckerberg testified before Congress in 2018 and 2019 to defend the company’s privacy practices after it was announced in March 2018 that the UK’s political advice Cambridge Analytica has harvested the data from up to 87 million Facebook users without their permission. The company has agreed to a $ 5 billion settlement with the Federal Trade Commission the largest fine the United States has received on behalf of the FTC.

Facebook, along with a handful of other technology giants, was the target of a Congress committee examines antitrust issues in the technology area. The study examines competition in online markets and whether large technology companies conduct “anti-competitive behavior”.

Kenneth Chenault, who was named Facebook’s first black board member in 2018, left the board in March, reportedly due to disagreements with Zuckerberg about corporate governance and political politics. Two weeks later, Facebook announced that Jeffrey Zients, a former President Barack Obama economic advisor who also joined the board in 2018, would seek re-election. Both had been dissatisfied with the company’s management and handling of misinformation on the platform for months, the journal reported.

In April 2019, Facebook announced that longtime independent board members Reed Hastings and Erskine Bowles, CEO of Netflix, would leave the board. In October, the company announced the resignation of Susan Desmond-Hellmann, who has been the leading independent director of the board since June 2015. Both were associated with private comments that expressed their frustration with the management of the company, the journal reported.

Only four of the nine directors who started on the board in 2019 are still left, the journal reported.

Facebook did not immediately respond to a request for comment.