Mark Zuckerberg and Marc Andreessen reportedly sparred last year over Facebook's response to its FTC settlement of the Cambridge Analytica scandal (FB)
- Marc Andreessen reportedly sparred with Mark Zuckerberg over Facebook's response to its settlement with the FTC over the Cambridge Analytica scandal, The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday.
- Andreessen expressed concern about whether Facebook could or would be able to adhere to the terms of the agreement and considered leaving the board, according to The Wall Street Journal.
- Facebook's board has seen massive turnover in the past year as Zuckerberg has sought to consolidate his power.
- The Wall Street Journal reported that many have left amid frustration that Zuckerberg has not been listening to dissenting voices on the board as Facebook tries to repair its public image.
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Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and board member Marc Andreessen were "at each other's throats" over the company's response to its settlement with the Federal Trade Commission regarding the Cambridge Analytica scandal, The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday.
In July 2019, the FTC slammed Facebook with a $5 billion fine along with a sweeping set of new regulations that would be imposed on the company, closing the book on its investigation into claims that Facebook mishandled millions of users' data.
Andreessen, who has served on Facebook's board since 2008, had expressed frustration to several people about the company's willingness and ability to comply with the complicated terms of the agreement, and considered leaving the board, the people said.
A spokesperson for Andreessen Horowitz declined to comment for this story, while Facebook did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Wall Street Journal also reported that several other longtime board members had grown frustrated that their views were being dismissed even as Facebook navigated thorny regulatory issues and scrutiny from lawmakers.
Kenneth Chenault and Jeffrey Zients led a group of dissenting board directors who met independently of other members; Erskine Bowles felt sidelined on political issues, his area of expertise; and Susan Desmond-Hellmann privately said to some that Facebook executives weren't listening to the board's advice, according to The Wall Street Journal.
In recent months, Facebook's board has undergone significant changes. In March, Facebook announced that Chenault and Zients would both be stepping down while adding three new members. Desmond-Hellmann left in October 2019, and Bowles and Netflix CEO Reed Hastings left in April 2019 as Facebook added Peggy Alford, a former executive at the Zuckerberg Chan Initiative. Dropbox CEO Drew Houston, a longtime friend of Zuckerberg's, also joined in February.
As a result, just four of the directors on Facebook's board at the start of 2019 — Zuckerberg, Andreessen, COO Sheryl Sandberg, and investor Peter Thiel — will remain pending the company's annual shareholder meeting in May. The moves were part of a campaign by Zuckerberg to further consolidate control over the company, sources told The Wall Street Journal.
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