Facebook Needs Independent Data Security Experts, Says Investor
It's time for change.
Since the Cambridge Analytica scandal, when Facebook leaked 50 million users’ private information to third-party companies, the social media platform has come under fire by the press and rival companies. It doesn’t look like CEO Mark Zuckerberg will be out of the hot seat any time soon, either.
Scott Stringer, the New York City Comptroller and fiduciary of the fourth largest public pension fund, said on Wednesday he’s concerned about how the company is being run. Stringer said the pension fund has almost $1 billion invested in Facebook and that Zuckerberg needs to make changes to stifle the controversy.
“When we feel the company is not moving in a direction that will increase its value than that’s cause for concern,” he says on Cheddar’s Morning Bell. “I believe that we need to increase independent directors at Facebook. People with expertise in protecting data, civil liberties, making sure that the company can transform given what’s happened.”
Stringer says he wants to see the company grow and make money because that would benefit his clients. While he believes hiring experts to keep something like Cambridge Analytica from happening again, he also thinks big changes need to happen at the top for that to happen. Zuckerberg is both the CEO and the chairman of Facebook, Stringer believes this dual position is making the company into an echo chamber.
“Mr. Zuckerberg should think about spending more time as the CEO and separating from being chairman as a way of creating more back-and-forth more eyes on the company, I think that’s critical,” states Stringer.
Facebook has made a few changes to improve transparency by allowing users to find out the data Facebook has on them and a soon-to-be-announced “Privacy Shortcuts” tool. It’s unclear whether any staffing changes will take place, but the resounding message seems to be that Zuckerberg needs to make some bigger moves.
