The Wall Street Journal: COVID jitters prompt Amazon, Meta and Twitter to pull out of CES tech show

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Organizers of CES 2022 are pressing ahead with plans to host tens of thousands of people in Las Vegas next month, setting up the technology conference as a test for mass business gatherings at a time when surging Covid-19 cases are prompting other companies and groups to change plans.

Several participants including Amazon.com Inc.
AMZN,
+2.00%
,
 Facebook parent Meta Platforms Inc.
FB,
+2.69%

 and Twitter Inc., and at least one keynote speaker, T-Mobile’s 
TMUS,
+1.77%

chief executive, have withdrawn from the event.

The Consumer Technology Association is kicking off the biggest U.S. tech conference the first week of January with a scaled-back crowd and vaccine and mask requirements. While there’s a digital component, the organization expects 50,000 to 75,000 attendees at the Las Vegas Convention Center and other venues.

In a normal year, the show gathered close to 200,000 attendees, though it went entirely online last January.

An expanded version of this report can be found at WSJ.com.

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