Facebook Shareholders Challenged Zuckerberg, Left Empty-Handed

The unhappiness that has been growing among Facebook shareholders for much of the past two years was on full display at the company’s annual shareholder meeting, according to Bloomberg.

One investor described Facebook as “Zuckerberg’s failing autocracy.“ Another said the company “destroyed journalism.“ SumOfUs, an organization that runs digital campaigns intended to apply pressure on powerful corporations, had members standing outside holding signs that read “Vote No On Zuckerberg“ and “Break Up Facebook.“ They also brought a large, inflatable balloon shaped like the angry face emoji on Facebook’s website.

Shareholders presented eight different proposals, many of them intended to limit CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s power, an issue that has become increasingly prevalent given Facebook’s recent run of crises over the past year. One proposal outlined a change in voting structure to limit a special class of shares that carry extra votes, shares mostly owned by Zuckerberg. Another suggested removing him as chairman. Zuckerberg, the 35-year-old co-founder who has majority voting control, rejected all of them, just as Facebook said he would. The vote tallies haven’t yet been made public, but all it took was for Zuckerberg to vote against these proposals to ensure they failed.

Zuckerberg presented prepared remarks before the meeting opened up to a broader question-and-answer session. He outlined some of the product areas that Facebook is focused on, including a plan to push into private, encrypted messaging. Zuckerberg also addressed Facebook’s control over content, and echoed a sentiment that he and other executives have been talking about for years: The government should share in the responsibility of deciding what posts should go up, or come down, on Facebook.