Mark Zuckerberg to Place Facebook “Philanthropic” Shares in a For-Profit LLC – This is Why

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Yesterday, all the media hoopla over Mark Zuckerberg’s announcement to “give away” 99% of his Facebook shares to philanthropic causes, came and went in the expected torrent of internet commentary. However, what you might have missed are the specifics around how he decided to safeguard those shares, and how unusual the for-profit LLC structure is for a charity.

Bloomberg reports:

The decision by Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan, to gradually give away 99 percent of their Facebook fortune is big news not just for the huge sum involved—about $46 billion—but for how the couple chose to achieve their philanthropic goal. Rather than set up a private foundation or charitable trust as Bill and Melinda Gates did, the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative will be structured as a limited liability corporation. 

It’s a highly unusual step for a massive philanthropy. “I’ve never seen someone set up an LLC exclusively for a philanthropic purpose before,” says Jane Wales, vice president of philanthropy and society at the Aspen Institute. “Normally they set up a foundation for the tax advantages of doing so.” Here are some significant ways that LLC status will shape what Zuckerberg and Chan do with their wealth.

1. There won’t be limits on lobbying

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Privacy Advocates Raise Alarm Over Snapchat’s Updated Terms of Service – Calling it “Scary”

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Snapchat related concerns aren’t new to Liberty Blitzkrieg readers. In case you missed the following previously published posts:

HBO and Snapchat are Actively Working with the U.S. Government to Create Propaganda

Snapchat Hacked – At Least 100,000 Photos at Risk

Today there’s a new controversy, related to the company’s updated “privacy policy,” which was recently unveiled along with an update to the app. Privacy advocates are sounding the alarm.

From MarketWatch:

Snapchat on Wednesday released a new update for its app and, with it, a new privacy policy that dramatically changes what the social network can do with the images users post.

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Facebook Caught Secretly Lobbying for Privacy Destroying “Cyber Security” Bill

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Before I get into this post, I want to thank everyone for all the congratulations and kind well wishes on the recent birth of our first child. Mom and baby are doing great, and we couldn’t be happier. Now let’s get back to the business of liberty.

There’s a privacy destroying bill moving through Congress called the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act, or CISA, and it’s imperative that the American public stop it in its tracks. Here are a few bullet points on the bill from Fight for the Future:

  • All privacy policies effectively null and void. Companies can share any private user data with the government, without a warrant, as long as the government says it is being used for a “cybersecurity” purpose.
  • In exchange, companies are given blanket immunity from civil and criminal laws, like fraud, money laundering, or illegal wiretapping (if a violation was committed or exposed in the process of sharing data).

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