I think this is GQ but mods please move if better placed elsewhere.
Twitter will no longer accept political ads. This was announced in a rather eloquent set of tweets by Jack Dorsey, one of which contains a clear reference, if not challenge, to Facebook.
I don’t understand FB’s corporate and shareholder structure. Could Zuckerberg make a similar move at Facebook unilaterally, i.e. despite board or shareholder opposition)? The way his critics talk it sounds like he can (which I don’t understand since he owns less than 30% of the company).
And, if he could/did pull off such a move and the stock tanked, could he be sued by shareholders for ‘reckless management’?
Zuck still controls a majority of the voting shares in Facebook, so, yes, he can implement whatever policy he wants. The remaining shareholders can sue him if they think he’s done something damaging to the company, but in general shareholder lawsuits against corporate officers do not succeed unless there’s been deliberate fraud or malfeasance. Simply making management decisions that you think are unwise is not generally sufficient, because it’s the shareholders’ job to remove officers who they view are doing a bad job.
Of course, you’re SOL if said officer controls a majority of the board votes. Which is why it’s often not a good idea to invest in companies with incestuous board structures.