Facebook Board Rejects Proposal to Curb Mark Zuckerberg’s Power

Facebook’s board of directors has rejected two proposals aimed at reducing the power held by CEO Mark Zuckerberg.

Bloomberg reports that Facebook’s board has rejected two proposals aimed at diminishing the power that CEO Mark Zuckerberg has over the company. The rejection was expected but largely disappointing to many who hoped to reign in the CEO’s power.

The board stated on Wednesday that it turned down a proposal to replace Zuckerberg as chairman with an independent representative. Zuckerberg has served as chairman of the board since 2012 and controls around 58 percent of Facebook voting shares, according to regulatory filings.

During Facebook’s annual meeting, the board rejected a proposal to eliminate the special class of super-voting shares that give Zuckerberg a controlling stake in the company. Under the plan, investors would have been awarded one vote per share. Similar motions have been rejected by the Zuckerberg-controlled board in the past.

The results of the votes are likely to frustrate shareholders that argue that Zuckerberg has too much power as Facebook faces calls for more independent oversight to address regulatory threats, privacy scandals, and general public controversies.

Facebook has agreed to reappoint its current board directors including Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg and Palantir Technologies co-founder Peter Thiel.

Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship. Follow him on Twitter @LucasNolan or contact via secure email at the address lucasnolan@protonmail.com