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Brett Kavanaugh was confirmed in the Supreme Court by 50 votes to 48, a Democratic senator, Sen. Joe Manchin, voting against Saturday, despite massive protests and several allegations of sexual assault from the candidate. Facebook, whose vice president for global public policy, Joel Kaplan, has supported Kavanaugh by appearing at the Senate hearings in a section dedicated to the candidate's family and friends, discusses these benefits.
On Thursday, the Wall Street Journal reported that hundreds of Facebook employees had "expressed outrage" about Kaplan's decision, questioning why he had supported a candidate accused of obnoxious behavior and whose confirmation procedure had handed over in question the legitimacy of the court. Later in the day, the company told CNBC that "sexual assault is a problem that society has turned a blind eye for too long – worsening each victim's pain," adding that our management team has acknowledged "having committed mistakes in handling the events of last week and we are grateful for all the comments of our employees. "
According to Barron, the internal reaction has not been resolved. An internal roundtable with Kaplan, CEO Mark Zuckerberg, and Operations Director Sheryl Sandberg at Facebook's headquarters on Friday was described as "tense":
On Friday, Kaplan solemnly addressed employees at the company's headquarters in Menlo Park, California, according to a person who attended the meeting.
Facebook general manager Mark Zuckerberg and general manager Sheryl Sandberg, who also attended the meeting, which was also broadcast live, expressed frustration that Kaplan had inserted Facebook into the busiest political debate. and the most controversial in the country. Another participant described the atmosphere as tense and Kaplan's comments as conciliatory, although he defended his long-standing friendship with Kavanaugh. Both men worked in the administration of President George W. Bush.
One of Barron's sources added that Zuckerberg and Sandberg had told employees that Facebook was open to diversity of opinion and that all staff should be tolerant and supportive, writes the paper. According to CNN, a source added that Kaplan "admitted to having made a mistake by not telling Mark and Sheryl" his intention to attend hearings. On an Axios account, an employee describes the mood as being "intense," but with employees less angry than skeptical.
Although Facebook told the media that Kaplan was a long-time friend of Kavanaugh, he attended the New York Times' personal hearings on internal board employees accusing the vice president of trying to win the favor of the Republicans:
"Suppose for a moment that our Vice President, Politics, understands the functioning of Senate hearings," said a program officer in a message about Mr. Kaplan, which was reviewed by the Times. "His choice of seat was intentional, knowing full well that the reporters would identify every public figure who appears behind Kavanaugh. He knew it would cause internal outrage, but he knew that he could not get fired for it. It was a protest against our culture and a slap to his colleagues. "
"Yes, Joel, we see you," added the employee.
According to the Times, other board employees reported that Zuckerberg had told his staff that he would not have made the same decision as Kaplan, but that decision was not made. 39; was not contrary to the rules of the company. One of them wrote: "I appreciate your willingness to avoid taking sides, but please, do not insult our intelligence services in any way. stating that this act did not constitute a violation of our policies or that it was only an honest error of judgment. "Others were angry at Sandberg. Kavanaugh's conduct was reported publicly, the newspaper reported, while discussing further their experiences of sexual assault and stating that they would not feel comfortable working with Kaplan at the same time. 39; future.
A senior executive, Andrew Bosworth, seemed to suggest that employees who were crazy about Kaplan's presence at the hearings could look for work elsewhere, according to reports obtained by the Times:
"If you need to change teams, societies, or careers to make sure your daily life matches your passions, we'll be sad to see you go, but we'll understand," Bosworth wrote. "We will help you with the path you choose. But it is your responsibility to choose a path and not the path of the company you are working for. "
Bosworth turned around after facing opposition – including Lori Goler, human resources manager for Facebook – who said he rejected the legitimate concerns of employees, said current employees and former employees.
The Times added that "current and former employees" stated that Kaplan's attendance at the hearings was not considered a personal day, but that the company's human resources management system had been changed to indicate that he had taken his day off.
Facebook is still struggling with an endless stream of controversies ranging from massive hacking that has allowed attackers to access tokens to access 50 million accounts, going through unfounded assertions according to which he systematically discriminates and silences conservative voices. As Slate points out, it is clear that Kaplan (a former leader of George W. Bush) was doing what he was asked to do: to build relationships with conservative politicians, help isolate Facebook from political consequences, as his downstream. Internet of the world.
However, it is also clear that while the company's mission to empower people to create a community and bring the world closer together, some Facebook employees are wondering if there is hypocrisy . A number of personalities have recently left the company and its affiliates, including Instagram co-founders Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger, as well as WhatsApp founder Jan Koum. The three would have feared that Facebook's ambition would not prevent them from controlling their products. As this incident makes clear, divisions about the direction of the company are going down to the grassroots.
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