Facebook's long list of scandals has raised concerns, including from shareholders. They say Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has too much power over the entire company.
A little flashback to Facebook's scandalous list, the social network was used to spread fake news during elections, fuel hate speech in Myanmar, and outright killings.
Facebook is also expected to face a record $5 billion fine from the Federal Trade Commission for its alleged failure to protect user privacy.
On Thursday (11/8) at the company's annual shareholder meeting, eight shareholder proposals, including some seeking to rein in Zuckerberg's powers, failed to pass.
The results are not surprising, as Zuckerberg has a majority vote over the company. That's because Zuckerberg, who is also chairman of Facebook's board of directors, owns a class of stock called Class B that has 10 votes per share.
One of the shareholder proposals would require Facebook to elect an independent board chairman, while the other would eliminate Facebook's Class B shares.
Calls for limiting Zuckerberg's control over the company are not the first to be voiced. But the intensity is now increasing as Facebook continues to be plagued by more issues, including issues surrounding data privacy and security. Even the co-founder of Facebook, Chris Hughes, has asked regulators to dissolve Facebook.
Meanwhile, outside the gathering at the Nia Hotel in Menlo Park, California, a small group of protesters from advocacy groups SumOfUs and Bend the Arc held up giant angry emojis along with signs reading "Break up Facebook" and "Vote no on Zuckerberg."
Conservatives from another group calling themselves Take California Back, vehemently used megaphones to accuse Facebook, which blocked several far-right figures earlier this month, of censoring free speech.
It didn't stop there, above the crowd of demonstrators, an airplane flashed the words "Break up Facebook! Save Silicon Valley!". In addition, the non-profit organization Fight for the Future projected a giant sign reading "Fire Mark Zuckerberg" on the side of Hotel Nia.
"We believe that Facebook is out of control," Arielle Cohen, national organizer for Bend the Arc, told a meeting on Thursday.
The group put forward a proposal asking Facebook to look at "strategic alternatives," including separating Instagram, WhatsApp and Oculus VR from the company and eliminating Class B shares.
In response, Zuckerberg during the meeting signaled that he has no plans to relinquish his control of the company, but will continue to push for more government regulation.