Alphabet, the owner of Google, and Meta, which owns platforms such as Facebook and Instagram, have decided to cancel their participation in the web summit, which will be held in mid-November in Lisbon, reports Bloomberg.
The decision, confirmed by company representatives, was made in response to event founder Paddy Cosgrave’s position on the war between the armed group Hamas and Israel.
The tech giants thus became the latest companies to boycott the tech event, in a list that already includes Siemens and Intel.
The companies are following in the footsteps of Israel, which made it clear shortly after the Web Summit founder’s comments that he would not be attending. The position was conveyed by the ambassador An Israeli in Portugal, Dor Shapira, called the claims “outrageous.”
Cosgrave’s words continue to be rejected even after the person responsible for the technology event moderated the position. “A To everyone who was offended by my words, I sincerely apologize,” he said in a repost on the Web Summit blog a day after the first publication.
However, he reiterated his position, regretting only the “time” and “manner” of presenting his opinion.
Despite the cancellations, Monday was the day the most tickets were sold, according to the event organizer. “In the last 24 hours, while nine investors have cancelled, 35 new investors have registered. Two media outlets canceled their activities, but more than 50 media outlets requested passes. And we sold more tickets than any other Monday in 2023.“, he said on October 17.
Author: Business magazine
Source: CM Jornal
I am Michael Melvin, an experienced news writer with a passion for uncovering stories and bringing them to the public. I have been working in the news industry for over five years now, and my work has been published on multiple websites. As an author at 24 News Reporters, I cover world section of current events stories that are both informative and captivating to read.