Sony, Google, Airbnb delay virtual events amid US protests

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Sony, Google, Airbnb delay virtual events amid US protests
Sony, Google, Airbnb delay virtual events amid US protests

New Delhi : In the US, coronavirus crisis has been overshadowed with another big crisis of people protesting against the brutality by a Minneapolis officer. The country is burning as people are attacking shops, looting them and also destroying public properties to raise their voices.

While violence as an option to raise demands is another topic of debate, it has been learned that some of the big tech companies have cancelled or delayed their virtual events in the wake of the protests.

Sony Corp. said it’s postponing a virtual news conference for the upcoming PlayStation 5 game console, one of the most high-profile corporate events to be put on hold in deference to protests against police brutality in the U.S.

Airbnb Inc. said Chief Executive Officer Brian Chesky won’t deliver a planned video message to discuss the home-rental startup’s vision for travel. And Alphabet Inc.’s Google postponed the introduction of its Android 11 mobile operating system previously planned for June 3.

The US has been seeing massive violent protests from New York to Los Angeles against the white police officer in Minnesota who allegedly choked a man to death with his knee on the neck. Curfew has been placed to keep the protesters away, despite that several looting and violence-related incidents have been reported.

For the PS5 event, which had been scheduled for June 4, Sony said, “We do not feel that right now is a time for celebration, and for now, we want to stand back and allow more important voices to be heard.”

Electronic Arts issued a statement with a black background that said: “We stand with our African American/Black community of friends, colleagues and partners.” The company said, “We’ll find another time to talk football with you because this is bigger than a game, bigger than sports and needs all of us to stand together and commit to change.”