Instant Alert: Sheryl Sandberg: Facebook won't kick Peter Thiel off the board

MANAGE SUBSCRIPTIONS   |   UNSUBSCRIBE   |   VIEW ONLINE   Sheryl Sandberg: Facebook won't kick Peter Thiel off the board by Jillian D'Onfro on Jun 1, 2016, 3:23 PM Advertisement Facebook CTO Sheryl Sandberg says that Peter Thiel will stay on Facebook's board.  Thiel, Facebook's longest-serving board member, recently revealed that he has been funding lawsuits against the publication, including one by Hulk Hogan that resulted in a $140 million jury verdict against Gawker.  Thiel's actions could be seen to contradict Facebook's past defenses of free speech, as Business Insider's Matt Rosoff and others have written. Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, who owns the Washington Post and is an investor in Business Insider, also criticized Thiel's actions. But Facebook demurred. "Peter did what he did on his own," Sandberg said. "We didn’t know about it." She continued that Thiel's strong views make him a valuable board member.  "We have very different board members with very different thoughts," she said. "Those people make good board members because they have strong views that they’re not afraid to show them." SEE ALSO: JEFF BEZOS ON PETER THIEL: 'Seek revenge and you should dig two graves, one for yourself'   Share the latest business news with your network: Email sent to:   |   Manage your email preferences   |   Unsubscribe Terms of Service   |   Privacy Policy Business Insider. 150 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10011