It’s clear to me now that the correct decision for @WebSummit is to rescind Marine Le Pen’s invitation.
Based on advice we have received and the large reaction online overnight, her presence is disrespectful in particular to our host country. It is also disrespectful to some of the many tens of thousands of attendees who join us from around the world.
The issue of hate, freedom of expression and platform technologies is one of the defining questions of 2018. We will redouble our efforts to approach this difficult issue at Web Summit with more care.
At Web Summit, we are ambitious to be a recognised platform for rigorous debate. In recent years, we’ve added dedicated private and public stages specifically for robust dialogue on contentious and defining issues of our time. But we’ve still much to learn.
We welcome any suggestions as to who might be appropriate and also inappropriate to speak on a whole range of issues affecting society and technology.
