Amazon pulls out of MWC as people from Hubei province are banned
More tech giants are pulling out of this year’s Mobile World Congress because of the coronavirus outbreak. Amazon is the latest tech company to announce that it’s withdrawing from MWC Barcelona 2020, following South Korea’s LG, US chipmaker Nvidia and Sweden’s Ericsson. MWC is the world’s largest mobile industry exhibition and takes place from February 24 to 27.
GSMA, the industry association that runs the MWC, said it’s “moving ahead as planned,” but it also stepped up health and safety measures. The organization said it’s not allowing travelers from China’s Hubei province to attend the exhibition, as it’s where the outbreak initially spread. Those who have been in China will also need to prove they’ve been outside the country for 14 days.
Other major tech companies have scaled back their presence at MWC. ZTE canceled a press conference and Huawei, Xiaomi and Oppo all cut the number of staff attending the conference. Some companies already sent employees to Spain in fear of further restrictions on Chinese travelers.
After Twitter shut down what it calls a Beijing-backed disinformation operation by banning more than 170,000 accounts, China has responded with a piece of curious advice.
Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying told reporters during a briefing on Friday that Twitter should shut down accounts that smear China if it wants to fight disinformation, Reuters reported. Hua said that many platforms had falsehoods about China and that there was a need for Chinese voices with objective views. But China itself is blocking Chinese voices from reaching Twitter: The platform is blocked inside the country.
On Thursday, Twitter removed state-linked accounts from China, Russia and Turkey for violating their platform manipulation policies. The company said the accounts spread “narratives favorable to the Communist Party of China” and pushed “deceptive narratives about the political dynamics in Hong Kong” where tensions have once again flared up over the new National Security Law.
This is not the first time Twitter has moved against Chinese state-backed operations on its platform. Last year in August, the platform removed over 900 accounts, which were part of a larger 200,000-strong army involved in a “coordinated state-backed operation” to allegedly sow political discord in Hong Kong.
The arcades aren't as big of a draw as they used to be. But if you miss the retro feel of joysticks and big round buttons, the Switch Fighter might help.
The accessory, which transforms a regular Nintendo Switch into a mini arcade cabinet, is seeking funding on Indiegogo. For US$99, the Hong Kong-based campaign promises to ship backers the Bluetooth-connected gadget, allowing them to “properly play classics like Street Fighter or King of Fighters.” It also serves as a dock for charging and TV output, according to the project page.
There’s a lot of caveats here: The project has a flexible goal, which means it’ll collect all contributions regardless of whether their funding target is reached. Also, Nintendo has previously warned users not to buy a third-party dock for their Switch.