Worried About Omicron Spread, Meta, Twitter And Pinterest Cancel Their Attendance At CES

The social media giant is avoiding electronic shows, fearing the spread of Omicron. (photo credit: pixabay)

JAKARTA - Parent company of Facebook, Meta Platforms Inc, Twitter Inc and Pinterest Inc separately said on Tuesday December 21 that they would not be sending a team to the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas next month due to growing concerns about an Omicron variant of the coronavirus spread.

The company is also not planning a large in-person meeting at the event.

"Out of extreme care and concern for our employees, we will not be attending CES in person due to the growing public health concerns associated with COVID-19," Meta said as quoted by Reuters.

Twitter had planned for several employees to attend to participate in the panel, but said it had canceled in-person attendance and was exploring what virtual opportunities might be.

Pinterest, which had planned a reduced meeting area for sales and its partner team from previous years, said it had made the final decision to cancel.

CES has in the past attracted more than 180.000 people from around the world to a sprawling series of casinos and convention halls in Las Vegas, which serve as an annual showcase of new trends and gadgets in the tech industry.

The Consumer Technology Association, which runs CES, said last Tuesday that the fair would run from Jan. 5 to Jan. 8. Health precautions will include vaccination requirements, the use of masks and the availability of COVID-19 tests, the association said.

Many companies including Qualcomm Inc, Sony Electronics and Alphabet Inc's Google and self-driving vehicle unit Waymo said they were moving forward for now with plans to attend and showcase new products and hardware or host meetings.

General Motors Co. said Tuesday that Chief Executive Mary Barra is still scheduled to introduce the US automaker's Silverado electric pickup truck and discuss the company's strategy in person at a conference on January 5.

Other companies have long planned virtual presences, among them chipmaker Nvidia Corp, which asked two executives to deliver keynote speeches via video.