Major firms show support after Friday’s attacks in Paris

November 14, 2015

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france_national_flag

Shortly after news broke of the attacks in Paris on Friday, major technology companies stepped up to show support.

Google

Google acted quickly in supplying free calls to France using Hangouts. Through the rest of the weekend, anyone can use Hangouts in order to contact friends and family currently located in the country. The company will likely extend this for a few more days.

Facebook

Immediately, Facebook activated the Safety Check feature to allow users nearby the attacks the ensure others that they are safe.

Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook CEO, commented:

“My thoughts are with everyone in Paris tonight. Violence like this has no place in any city or country around the world. We've activated Safety Check, so if you're in Paris you can mark yourself safe or check on your friends and family.”

Facebook is also offering a special filter for profile pictures to show their support. Users can place the country's flag over their own profile pictures temporarily or permanently. Facebook allowed the same thing earlier this year when the Supreme Court of the United States struck down the ban on gay marriage.

Amazon

Amazon quietly modified its homepage to show the flag of France raised above the French word for “solidarity.” The site also shows the Eiffel Tower next to the word on its banner, visible on every page.

Twitter

While Twitter did not explicitly make a move, its users took on a huge social responsibility, offering care for those in the city of Paris. The hashtag #PorteOuverte, which means “open door,” was used by Twitter users throughout the city in an effort to provide shelter for those loose on the streets and unable to get to a safe location. Twitter's Moments feature, in addition to the straightforward timeline, became a way for people around the world to follow the sights and sounds of what went on in Paris on Friday. Moments is still updating as news follows the aftermath.

Carriers

Both Sprint and Verizon have announced that customers can call and text people in France at no extra charge.

We are waiving international long distance roaming charges to France for Sprint customers. https://t.co/a7bIRp9rtI pic.twitter.com/RV6GZyXkSe

— Sprint (@sprint) November 14, 2015

Verizon customers can connect with friends and family for free following Paris attacks. https://t.co/Hv85FjEvBy

— Verizon News (@VerizonNews) November 14, 2015

As stated last night, the thoughts of everyone at Talk Android are with the people of Paris.

Via: The Wall Street Journal

Justin Herrick Author

Born and raised in New Jersey, Justin is a graduate of Fairleigh Dickinson University where he studied marketing with a focus on digital marketing. He's very talkative and enjoys discussing anything from technology and sports to video games and television. As for Justin's current device rotation, he carries around the Google Pixel and Nexus 9. In the rare case that his phone or tablet is not in his hand, he is either flicking through cards on his Moto 360 (2015) or typing away on the Microsoft Surface Book. Justin is patiently waiting for the day that Google replicates the Galaxy Nexus with modern day specifications.