Mark Zuckerberg Has No Plans to Step Down as Facebook Chairman

Mark Zuckerberg Take Responsibility for Data Abuse, Apologizes for Not Taking Action

Despite mounting pressure level from investors to step downwardly as Facebook chairman equally the social media business firm faces intense scrutiny on data scandals, Mark Zuckerberg has said he has no plans to retire.

In an interview with CNN late on Tuesday, he said this was not the time for him to quit as Facebook shares concluded at $132.43, downwards 40 percent from its peak in July.

"That's non the program. I'm not going to be doing this forever, but I'm non currently thinking that makes sense," said the Facebook CEO.

The interview came afterwards the New York Times reported how Zuckerberg and COO Sheryl Sandberg "ignored warning signs" of the Cambridge Analytica scandal and hired a Republican-owned political consulting and PR firm to "dig up dirt" on competitors.

"I practise run the company. I am responsible for everything that happens here. I don't think this point was about a specific PR firm; it's about how we act," Zuckerberg said during the interview.

The Times written report besides suggested that Facebook knew about Russian influence activities on its platform every bit early on every bit spring 2016.

Facebook hired a firm chosen Definers Public Diplomacy to retaliate against or spread inflammatory information about its critics. Elliot Schrage, Facebook'south outgoing Head of Public Policy, has reportedly taken the blame for hiring the Definers.

According to a memo with TechCrunch, Schrage admitted having the company push negative narratives well-nigh competitors but denies asking or paying Definers to publish fake news. Facebook didn't confirm the memo.

In the interview, Zuckerberg said there's no doubt that "we missed something really important" when information technology came to the Russian interference during the 2016 US ballot.

"It was not something we were expecting. I wish nosotros understood it before 2016, before the Russians tried to practise these information operations in the first identify," he added.

Last calendar week, Facebook investors increased pressure level on Zuckerberg to step down as Chairman. According to a written report in The Guardian, Jonas Kron, Senior Vice President at Trillium Asset Direction which owns a substantial stake in Facebook, "called on Zuckerberg to step down as board chairman in the wake of the study".

"Facebook is behaving like it'due south a special snowflake. Information technology's non. It is a visitor and companies need to take a separation of chair and CEO," Kron was quoted equally saying.

Another Facebook investor Natasha Lamb from Arjuna Capital said the combined role of chairman and chief executive ways that Facebook can avoid properly fixing bug within the company.