A rising number of high-profile companies and
speakers have withdrawn from the upcoming
South by Southwest music and arts festival
amid mounting concerns about the spread of
the new coronavirus.
Social media behemoth Facebook, tech news
outlet Mashable, video-based social media
platform TikTok and U.S. chip maker Intel have said
they will not participate in the festival in Austin,
Texas, that’s scheduled to run March 13-22.
Twitter announced a companywide non-
essential travel ban on Sunday, including
canceling plans to attend the festival. Jack
Dorsey, Twitter’s founder and CEO, had been
slated to speak at the event.
Tim Ferriss, investor and podcast host, tweeted
on Tuesday that he’s also canceling his
scheduled appearance as keynote speaker.