Soros: Zuckerberg, Sandberg should be removed from control of Facebook

Democratic donor George Soros said Tuesday that Facebook CEO Mark ZuckerbergMark Elliot ZuckerbergSoros: Zuckerberg, Sandberg should be removed from control of Facebook The Hill’s Morning Report – Sanders on the rise as Nevada debate looms Facebook white paper calls for ‘new type of regulator’ for the good of its business MORE and chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg should be removed from control of the social media company.

Soros targeted the two Facebook officials in a letter to the editor to the Financial Times responding to Zuckerberg’s comments Monday encouraging “more regulation of Big Tech.” He accused the CEO of “obfuscating the facts by piously arguing for government regulation.”

The Democratic donor alleged Zuckerberg has partnered with President TrumpDonald John TrumpCensus Bureau spends millions on ad campaign to mitigate fears on excluded citizenship question Bloomberg campaign: Primary is two-way race with Sanders Democratic senator meets with Iranian foreign minister MORE in a “mutual assistance arrangement” to help him get reelected through political advertising, an accusation he has made in the past. 

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“Facebook does not need to wait for government regulations to stop accepting any political advertising in 2020 until after the elections on November 4,” he said. “If there is any doubt whether an ad is political, it should err on the side of caution and refuse to publish.”

Soros said it is “unlikely” Facebook would refuse to publish political ads. 

“Therefore, I repeat my proposal, Mark Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg should be removed from control of Facebook,” he added. 

Soros proclaimed his theory that Facebook is working to reelect Trump at the World Economic Forum in Davos last month.

He published a January op-ed in The New York Times claiming the same views, that the platform has a “special relationship” with Trump.

A Facebook company spokesperson responded to The Hill about the letter repeating a previous statement, saying, “While we respect Mr. Soros’ right to voice his opinion, he’s wrong.”

“The notion that we are aligned with any one political figure or party runs counter to our values and the facts. We continue making unprecedented investments to keep our platform safe, fight foreign interference in elections around the world, and combat misinformation.”

Facebook has been criticized for not fact-checking the political ads on its platform, while other social media outlets like Twitter have banned political ads on its site, citing their ability to spread misinformation.