Facebook's F8 developer conference canceled over coronavirus concerns
What's the story
Facebook has canceled the in-person portion of its F8 developer conference due to concerns stemming from the outbreak of coronavirus.
The event, which hosts developers from different parts of the world, was scheduled to be held on May 5 and May 6.
However, it will not be taking place now and will instead be replaced by localized events and more.
Here's all about it.
Reason
In-person portion canceled due to safety risks
On February 27, Facebook's director of developer platforms and programs Konstantinos Papamiltiadis published a blog post announcing the cancellation of the in-person component of F8 2020.
Papamiltiadis called it a "tough decision" but emphasized that the "growing concerns around COVID-19" prompted them to "prioritize the health and safety of our developer partners, employees and everyone who helps put F8 on."
Other options
Facebook considered other options, but decided against proceeding
Papamiltiadis also noted that the company considered other ways to host the in-person part but eventually decided not to proceed with them in order to maintain inclusiveness.
"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," he said in the blog post.
Other options
Now, Facebook will try other ways to connect with developers
Typically, Facebook uses F8 to connect with a community of hundreds of thousands of developers and show them (and the world) what it plans for Facebook and its products in the near future.
However, now, with the in-person event being canceled, the company will make the announcements using other ways, including "a combo of locally hosted events, videos, and live-streamed content."
Quote
More details to be revealed in coming weeks, Papamiltiadis added
"We are planning other ways for our community to get together...We will share additional details on plans for F8 in the coming weeks," Papamiltiadis said while adding that "we look forward to seeing our global community of developers at F8 2021!"
Cancellations
Second big event to be canceled over COVID-19
While F8's cancellation is huge, it's not the first big event to have been shelved due to growing safety concerns over coronavirus outbreak.
A few weeks back, the GSM Association had to cancel MWC 2020, the biggest tech show in the world, due to similar concerns.
Even GDC 2020 could see the same fate as companies continue to pull out of the event.