Stanford Law Prof Drops Meta Over Zuckerberg's 'Toxic Masculinity'

Attorney and law professor Mark Lemley has publicly severed ties with Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, citing CEO Mark Zuckerberg's "descent into toxic masculinity and Neo-Nazi madness." The decision, announced on LinkedIn, comes amidst a whirlwind of controversial changes at Meta.
Legal Leader Lemley
Lemley is a leading figure in intellectual property law. Not only is he the William H. Neukom professor of law at Stanford Law and director of its Program in Law, but he’s also a partner at the IP and technology firm Lex Lumina. Lemley was retained to represent Meta in a high-profile copyright case involving comedian Sarah Silverman and other authors, which you may have read about on our previous blog.
If you didn’t, Sarah Silverman and the authors alleged that Meta (along with OpenAI, owner of ChatGPT) committed copyright infringement by using their works in the datasets to train their AI without permission. The plaintiffs argued that this unauthorized inclusion of copyrighted materials constitutes direct and vicarious copyright infringement, violations of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, and other legal breaches.
But despite believing Meta was on the "right side" of this legal battle, Lemley recently declared he could no longer represent the company "in good conscience."
Last Straw for the Lawyer
As lawyers are well aware, not all clients are a walk in the park. Often, though, you kind of have to swallow their bad personalities. Not Lemley.
The catalyst for Lemley's departure appears to be Zuckerberg's recent policy shifts, some of which you’ve probably heard about in the news. Such stances include ending third-party fact-checking in the U.S. and dismantling diversity, equity, and inclusion programs. These moves, which echo the strategies of Elon Musk, have sparked widespread criticism for potentially fostering disinformation and hate speech.
In a statement, Lemley accused Zuckerberg of taking "a series of steps…to encourage disinformation and hate speech on the platform, to target LGBTQ members on the site and at the company, and to encourage a culture of toxic masculinity.” In a recent LinkedIn post, the attorney wrote that he has “struggled with how to respond to Mark Zuckerberg and Facebook's descent into toxic masculinity and Neo-Nazi madness.”
The attorney also deactivated his Threads account and vowed to avoid purchases influenced by Facebook or Instagram ads. He said in a public post: “While I have thought about quitting Facebook, I find great value in the connections and friends I have here, and it doesn't seem fair that I should lose that because Zuckerberg is having a mid-life crisis.”
A Bold Move
Zuckerberg's recent comments on Joe Rogan’s podcast, where he advocated for more "masculine energy" in corporate culture, have only fueled the controversy. The CEO's political pivot towards former President Donald Trump, including a $1 million donation to Trump's inauguration fund, marks a stark departure from his earlier criticisms of Trump's rhetoric.
Lemley's bold exit has raised eyebrows in the legal community. And while legal ethics experts suggest that it's not unethical to drop a client, publicly criticizing them could tread murky waters. Meanwhile, Meta's legal defense in the ongoing copyright case with Silverman will continue with attorneys from Cooley LLP and Cleary Gottlieb at the helm.
Related Resources:
- Judge's Political Ties Prompt Misconduct Complaint (FindLaw's Practice of Law)
- Is Private Equity Coming for Small Law Firms? (FindLaw's Practice of Law)
- Facebook's $725M Settlement for Data Privacy Violations May Set a New Standard for Accountability (FindLaw's Courtside)