Newsletter
One of Meta’s longtime executives, and current Chief Operating Officer, Sheryl Sandberg, has announced her departure. Sandberg, a former Google executive, has worked alongside Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg since 2008 and has seen the company through some of its toughest times.
Sheryl Sandberg will continue serving on Meta’s board of directors
“Sitting by Mark’s side for these 14 years has been the honor and privilege of a lifetime. Mark is a true visionary and a caring leader,” Sandberg said in a lengthy Facebook post. “In the critical moments of my life, in the highest highs and in the depths of true lows, I have never had to turn to Mark, because he was already there.”
Sandberg didn’t immediately specify her next course of action but said she would remain on Meta’s board of directors. “Over the next few months, Mark and I will transition my direct reports and I will leave the company this fall. I still believe as strongly as ever in our mission, and I am honored that I will continue to serve on Meta’s board of directors.”
She also acknowledged the challenges of being the COO of one of the largest social media companies in the world. “The debate around social media has changed beyond recognition since those early days. To say it hasn’t always been easy is an understatement. But it should be hard. The products we make have a huge impact, so we have the responsibility to build them in a way that protects privacy and keeps people safe.”
The next few years could prove to be tricky for Meta
With a lot of talk about Meta’s handling of misinformation and other alleged misdeeds over the past few years, the company has a lot to deal with in the future. A report in March uncovered emails revealing a plot by the company to smear rival social media app TikTok. Meta reportedly asked marketing agency Targeted Victory to spread the message that “TikTok is the real threat as a foreign owned app” and that it’s the “#1 in sharing data that young teens are using.”
Meta also has to reconcile with the fact that it gathered data on millions of users. The breadth of Meta’s violations is still unknown, and could take a while for us to fully understand, as Input Mag notes.