This year’s Web Summit will be held in Portugal’s capital, Lisbon, from November 13 to 16. It is assumed that this time 2 thousand 300 entrepreneurs and more than 70 thousand people related to the technology sector will participate in the conference. But Meta and Google will not attend the biggest annual gathering of the international tech sector after one of the conference’s organizers criticized Israel over the attack on Gaza.
“We are no longer attending the Web Summit,” a Meta spokesperson told AFP news agency, announcing the decision on Friday. He confirmed that no representative of their company is attending the conference in this year’s event.
Irish entrepreneur Paddy Cosgrave, the co-founder of the Web Summit, expressed his dismay at the rhetoric and actions of Western countries’ governments and leaders in a post on social media X (Twitter) on October 13.
Cosgrave wrote, ‘War crimes must be war crimes, even if committed by allies. Whatever they are, they should be called by that name.’
But Cosgrave’s free expression angered various technology companies. Based on that source, the US technology company Intel and Germany-based Siemens also announced that they would not join the Web Summit. In addition, American comedian Amy Poehler and X-Files actress Gillian Anderson also announced boycotting the conference.
However, Cosgrave apologized for his remarks last Tuesday. In a statement, he said, ‘I understand that the words I said, the time I said them and the way they were presented, hurt many people’s feelings. I deeply apologize to those who were hurt by my words. Sympathy is needed at this time, which I could not convey.’
Cosgrave also said he openly condemned Hamas’s “horrific, heinous and monstrous” attacks on Israel and unequivocally supported Israel’s “right to exist and defend itself”.
Cosgrave believes Israel should abide by the Geneva Conventions and not commit war crimes.
