Omicron Variant Hits CES... Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest Withdraw

[Photo by AFP Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Byung-hee] The COVID-19 Omicron variant is expected to deal a significant blow to CES, the world's largest home appliance and IT exhibition.

Major U.S. social networking service (SNS) companies such as Meta Platforms, the parent company of Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest, announced on the 21st (local time) that they will not participate in CES 2022, according to major foreign media reports on the same day.

SNS companies including Meta cited concerns over the spread of the Omicron variant as the reason for their absence.

Meta stated that it plans not to participate in CES 2022 due to public health issues related to COVID-19 and expressed concern for the health of its employees.

Twitter said that while some employees will attend CES as panelists, it is canceling in-person attendance and is considering participating via video conference.

Pinterest also announced its final decision not to attend. Pinterest has been gradually reducing its scale of participation in CES over the past few years.

CES 2022 is scheduled to be held from the 5th to the 8th of next month in Las Vegas, USA.