Congress Member Wants Facebook CEO Zuckerberg Out

In what is likely to be one of a number of calls by members of Congress to insist Facebook Inc. (NASDAQ: FB) CEO and founder Mark Zuckerberg leave the world’s largest social network, Representative Bobby Rush says Zuckerberg has to go because of a series of scandals at the company.

Zuckerberg must take responsibility for a series of serious missteps made by Facebook, many outsiders say. Among them was the release of private records to research firm Cambridge Analytica. Facebook members did not know this information had been released. The Washington, D.C., city attorney Karl Racine filed suit against Facebook because of the action, saying “Facebook failed to protect the privacy of its users and deceived them about who had access to their data and how it was used.”

Among other charges against Facebook is that it confidentially gathered data on billionaire George Soros, who was critical of the company. Presumably, the information was to be used to undermine his comments. Facebook Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg knew this, which was not originally disclosed. A series of articles in The New York Times showed Facebook released personal data to several huge tech companies, including Netflix, Spotify and Amazon. The newspaper said this was done without disclosure to the Facebook members and was against the social network’s terms of service. Facebook defended the practice as within the rules of what it could do with this information.

Rush commented that Facebook has lied about the incidents and evaded questions from Congress and other parties that have looked into the events. Due to this, Rush said, “It is time for new leadership at Facebook, and it is time for Mark Zuckerberg to log out.”

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Rush is not alone. Some prominent organizations have insisted that he and Sandberg leave. These include the NAACP, MoveOn.org, Muslim Advocates and the Southern Poverty Law Center, all part of a group of 32 organizations who wrote:

It’s become abundantly clear that, as currently constituted, your leadership team is unable to adequately address the valid concerns of the civil rights community. It is now time for significant changes in, not only your policies but also your leadership structure.”

Rush’s comments about Zuckerberg are based on similar reasons. He said:

Enough is enough. Every morning, we seem to find another story detailing Facebook’s negligence and outright disregard for its users. Every story continues to further erode the trust between Facebook and the American people. The ongoing and expanding level of privacy infractions at Facebook is beyond comparison. This company and its executives have continued to deliberately take advantage of consumers and misuse their information.

As a growing number of politicians, attorneys general, shareholders and powerful organizations try to push Zuckerberg out, he has one overwhelming advantage that allows him to keep his job. The shareholder structure of Facebook is such that he controls the company. This means Rush will have to do more than accuse Zuckerberg of wrongdoing, unless it rises to the level of legal charges directly against Facebook’s chief.

Rush is at the front edge of calls for Zuckerberg’s resignation by members of Congress. As comments by other members grow, pressure on Zuckerberg will become more intense.

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