Meta Executive Sheryl Sandberg Accused of Blocking Bobby Kotick Abuse Reports

Meta Platforms COO Sheryl Sandberg is coming under fire, following allegations in the Wall Street Journal that she used Facebook’s authority to pressure The Daily Mail into not publishing detailed reports of Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick’s alleged abuse.

According to the WSJ article, Meta is looking into whether Sandberg violated any rules by allegedly working with Kotick and a team of employees from both Facebook and Activision to convince the publication not to run the article.

Kotick, 59, and Sandberg, 52, were reportedly dating at the time and are alleged to have contacted the Daily Mail in both 2016 and 2019 about shelving a story that shared that Kotick’s ex-girlfriend had filed a temporary restraining order against him, alleging abuse. She has since recanted her claims, saying in a statement from her attorney to The Guardian that her allegations were untrue.

“I told the Wall Street Journal that what I said 8 years ago about Bobby was false. It is still false. In fact, in 2014, I signed a sworn statement making clear that what I had said about Bobby was untrue,” the statement reads.

Still, questions remain over whether or not contacting The Daily Mail was Sandberg directly invoking Facebook’s authority to bury the story. However, Meta appears to believe she did not so, with a spokesperson telling CNBC in a statement that “Sheryl Sandberg never threatened the MailOnline’s business relationship with Facebook in order to influence an editorial decision...This story attempts to make connections that don't exist.”

Kotick has also come under fire recently after shareholders and employees at Activision Blizzard called for his resignation in 2021 over sexual misconduct allegations.