Facebook Coup D'etat, Ousting Zuckerberg Proposed

It’s finally happening. After being in control of his company since its founding, Mark Zuckerberg is finally running up against his own shareholders, some of whom don’t want him in charge anymore. A proposal has already been made with the intent of removing Zuckerberg from the board of Directors. For a replacement, the group that filed the proposal wants someone who is independent.

The proposal was made by a small group of shareholders, which is spurred by a tech watchdog, Computerworld reports. It’s an act that analysts consider has practically no chance of working and could actually damage Facebook’s interests with the appearance of a Civil War.

According to Patrick Moorhead from Moor Insights & Strategy, trying to oust Zuckerberg as Chairman of the Board regardless of how small the chances of it happening can destabilize the social media company. A lot of this has to do with how huge of a role the Facebook founder plays in much of the company’s inner workings.

“It would completely destabilize Facebook," Moorhead said. "Zuckerberg still makes most of the key decisions and without him it would be a major risk… I don't see a single piece of upside in removing Zuckerberg from the board."

As to why the small number of shareholders are doing this in the first place, their reasoning has to do with the capital structure that was approved back in 2016, Tech Times reports. According to the group, the new system gave Zuckerberg considerably more power in making decisions, which the members view as unfair.

The shareholders behind the ousting proposal also want someone independent to become the next Chairperson because they believe that it would distribute power among those involved with more fairness. This development could not have come at a worse time for Facebook, which is currently facing criticisms from all sides over its role in the spread of fake news and hateful content.