A new file with the Securities and Exchange Commission shows that Facebook spent more than $ 23 million last year insuring CEO Mark Zuckerberg.
Annual company security reviews showed there were "specific threats to Mr. Zuckerberg," according to a company agent's statement submitted to the committee on Friday.
"The name Zuckerberg is synonymous with Facebook, and as a result, negative emotions about our company are directly related, and are often passed on to Mr. Zuckerberg," the agent says of the CEO role.
The costs of protecting Zuckerberg and his family rose in 2020, mainly due to the COVID-19 travel protocols, increased security coverage during the 2020 US election season, and "other periods of heightened security risks," in addition to rising costs for security personnel.
The "All Other Compensation" section of the agent's statement shows that Facebook spent $ 23 million to house Zuckerberg's personal security and to travel with him and his family.
The CEO also received an additional $ 10 million to cover security personnel and other security costs, while the cost of basic security was $ 13.4 million last year, compared to $ 10.4 million the previous year.
"The Compensation and Governance Committee believes that these costs are appropriate and necessary in light of the threat, and the fact that Mr. Zuckerberg has requested only one dollar of the annual salary and is not receiving any additional payments, stock bonuses, compensation and other incentives," the company’s agent statement said.
Also in the statement filed on Friday, Facebook said it would submit a proposal at a shareholder meeting on May 26 to provide personal security to unassigned directors from time to time, which it says is necessary due to "the constant scrutiny that our managers face as a result of their service on our board."
Facebook approved personal security services for some non-employee managers in January and February last "in light of the high level of scrutiny that our company and our executives and managers face, as well as the charged atmosphere after the 2020 US elections and the attack on the US Capitol building in January 6, 2021 ″, according to the agent's statement.
A report released last January by the Transparency Technical Project Committee found that some of the extremist rioters in the Capitol attack had for several months used private groups on Facebook to plan and coordinate the attack, despite comments from Facebook Operations Director Sherrill Sandberg that "the events took place." It is largely organized on platforms that do not have our ability to stop hate, do not have our standards, and do not have our transparency. "