Facebook CEO To Take Political Action

Sources indicate that Mark Zuckerberg, co-founder, chairman and CEO of social networking giant Facebook, is getting ready to enter the US political arena as part of a recently founded independent campaign group.

The yet unnamed organisation is expected to tackle issues of immigration and education, operate as a non-profit and lean to the right.

Zuckerberg is reportedly prepared to spend up to $20 million on this new venture.

Political Zuck

Mark Zuckerberg is regularly voted one of the most powerful people in technology. Facebook has over a billion active users, and the 28 year old entrepreneur’s personal wealth is estimated to be at least £8.75 billion as of March 2013. Despite this, until very recently Zuckerberg has kept out of politics.

Now, he is expected to join a campaign group that wants to influence the reform of the US immigration and visa system – a hot topic and one of the current priorities for Barack Obama’s office.

Just a few weeks ago, Zuckerberg signed a letter addressed to the White House, asking the country’s leadership to ease the process of hiring highly qualified staff from abroad. He was joined by HP CEO Meg Whitman, Google executive chairman Eric Schmidt, Cisco CEO John Chambers, Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer and almost a hundred other US tech executives.

According to the US blog Politico, the new action group will work in the same direction, campaigning for simplified immigration rules that would attract more talent. It will also support reform that would allow illegal immigrants to eventually achieve American citizenship.

According to San Francisco Chronicle, Zuckerberg will join the group led by Joe Green, a tech entrepreneur and his old roommate at Harvard University. The group is also rumoured to involve Jon Lerner and Rob Jesmer – two high-profile republicans, as well as Joe Lockhart, a former press secretary for Bill Clinton and current Facebook spokesman.

Just a few weeks ago, Zuckerberg hosted a fundraiser for New Jersey governor Chris Christie, prompting some to suggest he was preparing for more active political work.

Meanwhile, a study by researchers from the University of Cambridge has claimed that analysis of the user’s Facebook likes can predict their relationship status or history of substance abuse.

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