Facebook scraps developer event over 'health and safety' concerns, coronavirus fear
February 27, 2020
Facebook has scrapped its annual F8 developer conference "to prioritize health and safety" of employees and participants amid fears of coronavirus, media reports suggested.
Slated for May 5 and 6, 2020, in San Jose, California, the event is the social media giant's biggest one every year.
Facebook’s director of developer platforms and programs, Konstantinos Papamiltiadis, noted that it "was a tough call to make", as per The Wrap, which cited the company's statement.
"F8 is an incredibly important event for Facebook and it’s one of our favorite ways to celebrate all of you from around the world — but we need to prioritize the health and safety of our developer partners, employees and everyone who helps put F8 on.
"We explored other ways to keep the in-person part of F8, but it’s important to us to host an inclusive event and it didn’t feel right to have F8 without our international developers in attendance," Papamiltiadis added, according to the publication.
However, the official said Facebook was "planning other ways for our community to get together through a combo of locally hosted events, videos and live streamed content”.
