Popular social media platforms Facebook and Twitter have officially withdrawn from the Austin, Texas festival South by Southwest (SXSW) 2020. Twitter’s CEO Jack Dorsey was expected to be a ‘Feature Speaker’ at the event. Unfortunately, he has announced that he will not be making an appearance. Soon after, Facebook‘s CEO Mark Zuckerberg and several other employees also pulled out of SXSW; they were expected to host multiple events.
Unsurprisingly, there is much speculation that the reason for these cancellations is due to the coronavirus outbreak. Facebook canceled its F8 conference for the same reason. As of now, 32,000 individuals have signed a petition to postpone the SXSW festival. Sadly, the festival has not addressed the petition; however, they posted an update on the situation. As the website states:
“SXSW is working closely on a daily basis with local, state, and federal agencies to plan for a safe event. As a result of this dialogue and the recommendations of Austin Public Health, the 2020 event is proceeding with safety as a top priority.”
SXSW is expected to take place from March 13th to the 22nd. Despite the coronavirus outbreak, the major festival will continue as scheduled.
Stay tuned for more updates on SXSW.