Coronavirus has struck fear into many worldwide. This contagious disease has caused many people and companies to make several bold and extreme decisions. News reports have confirmed that Twitter (NYSE: TWTR) has pulled out of 2020 South by Southwest (SXSW) conference and festivals due to coronavirus concerns.
SXSW is an annual event that brings the film, interactive media and music industries together in Austin, Texas. A blog post from Twitter on Sunday noted that the company is adjusting its travel policy. The blog post stated, "On February 29, we informed our people and started notifying partners that we are suspending all non-critical business travel and events." Twitter's new traveling policy was put immediately into effect. As a result of this, Twitter will cancel its employee travel to the annual South by Southwest (SXSW) festival. Twitter's absence would also include the cancellation of CEO Jack Dorsey's planned keynote due to the concerns of the coronavirus. Twitter further explained that their policy would not change back until concerns about the coronavirus have dropped.
Siobhan Murphy, a Twitter spokesperson, sent over an email to The Verge. It was in this email the company learned that Twitter would not be appearing at SXSW. The email also explained that Twitter House, a program that hosts several speakers and events, would be cancelled as well.
Due to the growing worries of the coronavirus, many people believe that the festival should be cancelled. A petition to cancel the event has formed and already has more than 15,000 signatures. However, SXSW officials have said that the festival will go on as planned. SXSW's attendee safety resources page stated, "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."
However, Twitter is not the only company to be worried by the coronavirus. GSMA was supposed to organize a phone industry event called Mobile World Congress in February in Barcelona, Spain, but the group canceled its show. The Game Developers Conference decided to delay its massive event set for March in San Francisco. And finally, the F8 developers conference, an event run by Facebook (NASDAQ: FB), would have taken place in May in San Jose, California, but was canceled.