During an appearance at Code Conference 2016 today , Facebook COO Sheryl Sandbergsaidthat Peter Thiel act independently from Facebook during his financing of case against Gawker Media , Gizmodo ’s parent troupe .
“ Peter did what he did on his own . We did n’t make love about it,”Sandberg said . “ We have very different panel members with very dissimilar thoughts , ” she add . “ Those people make good board members because they have strong views that they ’re not afraid to show them . ”
When asked whether Thiel would remain on Facebook ’s table of directors , Sandberg said yes , Mashable reported .
Thiel , who was one of Facebook ’s earliest investors , latterly admittedthat he has funded lawsuits against Gawker Media . Since his involvement became publicly known , somehavecalledfor Facebook to remove him from its instrument panel . But on Wednesday , Sandberg — and , by extension , Facebook more broadly — seem to have made the decision to place upright behind him .
Sandberg ’s comment on FB board member Peter Thiel : " Peter did what he did on his own … and you should talk to him"pic.twitter.com / cbchqmsrDL
— Brian Stelter ( @brianstelter)June 1 , 2016
https://twitter.com/embed/status/738085945833062401
Sheryl Sandberg say Peter Thiel bankrolled the Gawker causa on his own , does n’t set up him as a Facebook control board member
— Liana B. Baker ( @LianaBaker)June 1 , 2016
“ These are hard issues and no one is run to pretend that when sovereign board phallus do thing it ’s going to be easy for the companies,”Sandberg said . She added that had Thiel involved Facebook straight , things would be different : “ If he did anything with Facebook resources , that would be a Facebook issue . ”
Asmanyhave previouslynoted , Mark Zuckerberg , Facebook ’s CEO , has been a staunch withstander of devoid speech . After Gizmodo describe on the inner workings of Facebook ’s trending news show squad , in which a former declarer say that conservative stories were suppress , Zuckerberg himself defendedthe weapons platform ’s purpose as one that promote conversation and the devoid flow of idea :
Facebook stands for give everyone a voice . We believe the mankind is well when the great unwashed from different backgrounds and with different ideas all have the exponent to share their thought process and experiences . That ’s what make societal medium unparalleled . We are one global residential area where anyone can divvy up anything — from a lie with photo of a female parent and her baby to rational analysis of political events .
As Buzzfeed notes , Mark Zuckerberg controls the legal age stockholder voting mogul and Thiel is up for re - election at Facebook ’s June 20 shareowner meeting :
Whether or not Zuckerberg is squeeze to address the Thiel situation at the 11 a.m. stockholder meeting at the Sofitel San Francisco Bay in Redwood City , his thumb - up , or down , vote will be the most forceful assertion he can make about his board extremity — a man who some argue is setting a chilling case law for media companies that publish stories not to the liking of powerful billionaires .
Will Facebook , a company dependent on publishers for the content that fuels its News Feed , stand by a board member essay the devastation of one of those very publisher ?
Sandberg , however , dismissed similarity between the two situations .
“ When he did his tweet , it almost look like he was talking for Facebook,”she allege . In Thiel ’s casing , Sandberg say the note between the person and the caller was clear enough . “ We determine not to comment , ” she add .
[ Disclosure : Facebook has launched a syllabus that pay publisher , including the New York Times and Buzzfeed , to produce videos for its Facebook Live tool . Gawker Media , Gizmodo ’s parent fellowship , recently joined that program . ]
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