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A24 TECHNOLOGY
Wednesday 21 november 2018

As Facebook faces fire, heat turns up on No. 2 Sandberg

including 2013’s “Lean In”
about women and lead-
ership. Her second book,
“Plan B,” is about dealing
with loss and grief after her
husband died unexpect-
edly. She was the lone chief
operating officer among a
who’s who of tech CEOs —
including Apple’s Tim Cook
and Amazon’s Jeff Bezos —
to meet with Donald Trump
a month after his election.
“It’s both who she is and
how bereft Silicon Valley is
of strong, powerful female
voices,” crisis management
expert Richard Levick said.
“She has positioned herself
as one of those strong voic-
es with ‘Lean In.’” The cho-
rus for Sandberg to leave
is getting louder. CNBC
commentator Jim Cramer
predicted Monday that
Facebook’s stock would
rise if Sandberg leaves or
gets fired. NYU’s Galloway
believes both Sandberg
and Zuckerberg should be
fired for allowing Facebook
In this Jan. 17, 2017, file photo, Chief Operating Officer of Facebook, Sheryl Sandberg, delivers a speech during the visit of a start-up to turn into an entity that
companies gathering at Paris’ Station F in Paris. harms democracy around
Associated Press the world.
By BARBARA ORTUTAY past two years : fake news, and Sandberg’s — troubles. interview. A representative “Every day executives are
AP Technology Writer elections interference, hate As chief operating officer, instead pointed to Zucker- fired for a fraction of infrac-
NEW YORK (AP) — For the speech, a privacy scandal, Sandberg is in charge of berg’s remarks that overall, tions these two have com-
past decade, Sheryl Sand- the list goes on. The com- Facebook’s business deal- “Sheryl is doing great work mitted,” he said.
berg has been the poised, pany’s response — namely, ings, including the ads that for the company. She’s Besides elections interfer-
reliable second-in-com- Zuckerberg’s and Sand- make up the bulk of the been a very important ence, Zuckerberg and
mand to Facebook CEO berg’s — has been slow at company’s revenue. She partner to me and contin- Sandberg have been criti-
Mark Zuckerberg, helping best, misleading and obfus- steered Facebook from a ues to be, and will continue cized for their slow response
steer Facebook’s rapid cating at worst, as The New rising tech startup into a to be. She’s leading a lot of to the Cambridge Analyt-
growth around the world, York Times reported last viable global business ex- the efforts to improve our ica scandal, in which the
while also cultivating her week. That report, and one pected to reap $55 billion systems in these areas.” data-mining firm accessed
brand in ways that hint at from The Wall Street Journal in revenue this year. The Sandberg, 49, who was millions of users’ private
aspirations well beyond the , underscored Sandberg’s company is second only to hired away from Google information without their
social network. influence at the company, Google in digital advertis- in 2008, has been a cru- permission. The pair were
But with growing criticism even as Zuckerberg has ing. cial “heat shield” for Zuck- silent for days after the
over the company’s prac- borne much of the criticism But she’s also gotten the erberg, as Galloway put news came out. According
tices, or lack of oversight, and anger. There have blame when things go it, as lawmakers and the to the Journal, Zuckerberg
her carefully cultivated been calls for both to be wrong, including Face- public crank up criticism told Sandberg this spring
brand as an eloquent ousted. book’s failure to spot Rus- of the 34-year-old founder. that he blamed her and
feminist leader is showing But because of the way sian attempts to influence In September, Facebook her teams for the “public
cracks. Questions these Facebook is set up, firing U.S. elections by buying sent Sandberg to testify fallout” over Cambridge
days aren’t so much about Zuckerberg would be all U.S. political ads — in ru- before the Senate intelli- Analytica. Citing unnamed
whether she’ll run for the but impossible. He controls bles. Though Sandberg gence committee, eliciting sources, the newspaper
Senate or even president, the majority of the compa- has denied knowing that a warmer response than said Sandberg at one point
but whether she ought to ny’s voting stock, serves as Facebook hired an oppo- her boss did three months wondered if she should
keep her job at Facebook. its chairman and has — at sition research firm to dis- before. be worried about her job
“Her brand was being least publicly — the support credit activists, she created Sandberg, former chief (though that appears to no
manicured with the same of its board of directors. Es- a permissive environment of staff for treasury secre- longer be the case, based
resources and care as the sentially, he’d have to fire through what the Times tary Larry Summers, ap- on Zuckerberg’s public
gardens of Tokyo,” said himself. Firing Sandberg called an “aggressive lob- pears more comfortable in support). Galloway said it
Scott Galloway, a New York would be the next logical bying campaign” against Washington meeting rooms would look bad for Face-
University marketing pro- option to hold a high-level critics. Facebook fired the than Zuckerberg, who can book to fire one of the only
fessor. “And unfortunately executive accountable. firm, Definers, after the seem robotic. Her profile is top female executives in
a hurricane has come Though the chances are Times report came out. high enough that lawmak- an industry where women
through the garden.” slim, the fact that it has Facebook declined to ers don’t feel stilted when “face inordinately high ob-
Facebook has been deal- even come up shows the comment on Sandberg or she shows up. She’s writ- stacles to get to leadership
ing with hurricanes for the extent of Facebook’s — make her available for an ten (with help) two books, positions.”q