Tim Cook May Have Just Ended Facebook

[kurtcagle]

21. Cook may not have ended Facebook

but he may have ended Zuckerberg's tenure as CEO.

I run a data science news site. Over the past several months, we've been steadily scaling back our engagement with Facebook, usually in favor of Twitter or LinkedIn. A big part of that has been that our audience for the most part has withdrawn from FB, and with it, the number of engagements that potential advertisers want to see before buying ad space. I've not seen the same thing on either Linked In or Twitter.

From that perspective, Facebook is hurting, and if anything, Zuckerberg's closeness with Trump, along with the frequently two-faced approaches that the company has taken with both advertisers and regulators in trying to become the FoxNews of Social Media, has hurt the company far more than it helps.

Tim Cook is not Steve Jobs, but he is still a very prominent voice in the industry, and others are listening. I would not be at all surprised if Facebook's board of directors decides to call Zuckerberg to the carpet and ousts him, then picks up a senior executive from Google or Twitter as his replacement. This would likely be justified on the basis of falling subscribers, but in reality, they also know that they're going to be facing significant regulatory battles so long as Zuckerberg is in the corner suite, especially with Biden remaking the FCC and SEC. He's already on thin ice, from what I've heard.