Real Facebook Oversight Board Joins National Effort to Demand Corporate Governance Reforms at Meta.
#MakeMarkListen Launches Ahead of Meta’s Annual General Meeting on May 25
17 MAY — The Real Facebook Oversight Board today announced it was joining a national effort to mobilize and rally support for corporate governance reforms at Meta in advance of the company’s annual general meeting next week. The #MakeMarkListen campaign is organizing a collection of activists and advocacy organizations to demand oversight and accountability at Meta on behalf of the general public and shareholders who have been victims of countless harms thanks to Mark Zuckerberg’s record of mismanagement.
As part of the campaign, Real Facebook Oversight Board is also endorsing two resolutions that will be considered at Meta’s annual general meeting and encouraging shareholders to vote in support of each. The first resolution (Proposal #14), offered by Harrington Investments, the Park Foundation, and SumOfUs, mandates a performance review of Meta’s audit and risk committee and its performance in overseeing company risks to public safety and the public interest. The second resolution (Proposal #9) filed by Arjuna Capital, SHARE, Storebrand, and SumOfUs, requests the Board of Directors commission a third-party assessment of its metaverse project, specifically focused on the potential harms to users that may be caused by the use and abuse of the platform.
“Mark Zuckerberg is either unwilling or unable to run his company in a way that protects the best interests of Meta’s users or shareholders,” said a spokesperson for the Real Facebook Oversight Board. “ Zuckerberg’s poor management decisions, negligence of corporate governance, and unwillingness to prioritize people over profit have damaged the public. Now it’s damaging the company.”
In recent months a steady flow of controversies has taken its toll on Meta. Between whistleblower Frances Haugen’s 11 complaints to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, a fall in future earnings projections, and a single-day valuation loss of more than $230 billion, it has become clear that Mark Zuckerberg’s toxic behavior has led to mismanagement, misconduct, and dysfunction. As a result of his actions, Meta has been able to produce detrimental products for years. The company intentionally hides vital information from the public, from its shareholders, from the U.S. government, and from governments around the world, misleading these parties about its research on adolescent safety, artificial intelligence and its role in spreading divisive and extreme messages.
As Meta shareholders meet to discuss the future of the company, their platforms continue to do active harm to civil rights, human rights, public health, and democracy worldwide. In spite of knowing how to turn off the flow of hateful, inflammatory, and misleading content on Facebook, they won’t do it, because the profits are too great.
We need to #MakeMarkListen. We must demand accountability until these issues are addressed. It’s long past time for independent, external oversight and accountability measures to be implemented in a way that protects shareholder interests.
“We cannot let Mark Zuckerberg continue running Meta so recklessly,” continued a spokesperson. “It’s long past time for reforms at Meta that will ensure transparency, accountability, and oversight. We are calling on investors to support our endorsed resolutions as we seek to rein in Zuckerberg’s mismanagement.”
Real Facebook Oversight Board members are available for interviews. Statements do not reflect the individual positions of all Real Facebook Oversight Board Members. Contact us at media@the-citizens.com.
