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Letter - Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade Updates


Chairmen Guthrie, Joyce, and Bilirakis Send Letter to NCAA Over Decision to Let Student Athletes Gamble on Professional Sports

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Brett Guthrie (KY-02), Chairman of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, Congressman John Joyce, M.D. (PA-13), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, and Congressman Gus Bilirakis (FL-12), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade, sent a letter to National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) President Charlie Baker following the recent announcement that student athletes and athletic department staff will be allowed to bet on professional sports. KEY EXCERPTS: “The Committee on Energy and Commerce is examining the NCAA’s recent policy change permitting student athletes and athletic department staff to bet on professional sports.” [...] To assist the Committee in its oversight, we request a briefing by no later than November 13, 2025, that addresses the following: Why is the NCAA changing its policy allowing student athletes to bet on professional sports? Has the NCAA conducted any studies, analyses, or reviews of the impact of gambling on student athletes? If so, what are the results? What role did they play in the NCAA’s decision to allow student athletes to bet on professional sports? How does this change allow the NCAA, the conferences, and the member schools to better protect the integrity of college games and encourage healthy habits for student-athletes who choose to engage in betting activities on professional sports? How is the NCAA engaging with athletic conferences, member institutions, and teams to address questions and concerns about this rule change? Amid recent allegations of illegal sports betting among student athletes and concerns expressed by member institutions, is NCAA reconsidering implementation of the policy? What guardrails are in place to prevent the type of illegal sports betting activity that is allegedly occurring in the NCAA and NBA, considering that some student athletes will go on to become professional athletes? Please provide details about any fraudulent, illegal, and alleged betting practices in connection with NCAA players, coaches, and officials, including the actions of NCAA players identified in recent infraction decisions; as well as prior instances, some of which are identified above. Please describe the NCAA’s “layered integrity monitoring program,” for maintaining competition integrity and pursuing sports betting violations. What gaps, if any, are in existing regulations that allow illegal betting schemes to occur in college sports? BACKGROUND: On October 24, 2025, the Committee on Energy and Commerce launched its investigation into sports fixing and illegal gambling after the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) unsealed indictments of current and former NBA players and coaches. An initial announcement stated that, effective November 1, 2025, student athletes and athletic department staff in all three NCAA divisions would be permitted to bet on professional sports. A few days before the policy change was supposed to take effect, the Division I Board of Directors voted to delay implementation of the rule change across all three divisions to November 22, 2025. A recent NCAA press release stated that “enforcement staff has opened investigations into potential sports betting violations by approximately 30 current or former men's basketball student-athletes.” CLICK HERE to read the full letter.



Bipartisan E&C Leaders Request Briefing from NBA Commissioner Adam Silver Following Allegations of Sports Fixing and Illegal Gambling

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, House Committee on Energy and Commerce Chairman Brett Guthrie (KY-02) and Ranking Member Frank Pallone Jr., (NJ-06), along with Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations Chairman John Joyce, M.D. (PA-13) and Ranking Member Yvette D. Clarke (NY-09), and Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade Chairman Gus Bilirakis (FL-12) and Ranking Member Jan Schakowsky (IL-09), sent a letter to National Basketball Association (NBA) Commissioner Adam Silver following the recent announcement that current and former NBA players and coaches have been indicted on charges relating to sports fixing and illegal gambling. KEY EXCERPT: These allegations raise serious concerns about sports betting and the integrity of sport in the NBA, which harms fans and legal sports bettors. [...] To assist the Committee in its oversight, we request a briefing by no later than October 31, 2025, that addresses the following:  Details about the fraudulent, illegal, and alleged betting practices in connection with NBA players, coaches, and officials, including the actions of NBA players and coaches identified in the recent indictment; as well as prior instances, some of which are identified above.  Actions the NBA intends to take to limit the disclosure of nonpublic information for illegal purposes. Whether the NBA’s Code of Conduct for players and coaches effectively prohibits illegal activity, including the disclosure of non-public information for the purposes of illegal betting schemes. An explanation of the gaps, if any, in existing regulations that allow illegal betting schemes to occur. Whether and how the NBA is reevaluating the terms of its partnerships with sports betting companies. BACKGROUND: According to the unsealed indictment, current and former NBA players and coaches allegedly used insider information to place or profit from bets on NBA games. The federal indictment’s allegations of illegal betting span incidents of fraudulent wagering from December 2022 to March 2024 and involve defendants and co-conspirators residing across the United States. In 2023, it is alleged that Miami Heat player Terry Rozier left a game early to facilitate a co-conspirator’s winning bet, which produced hundreds of thousands of dollars in winnings to be split with Mr. Rozier. Another co-conspirator, former NBA player Damon Jones, is alleged to have gained access to non-public information on NBA players and teams, which he then sold to professional gamblers. Other unnamed co-conspirators are alleged to have passed along insider information as well, such as which players would not be playing in an upcoming game. In 2007, former NBA referee Tim Donaghy pleaded guilty to federal charges for using insider information to bet on games he officiated. Last year, Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter was banned from the NBA for life after pleading guilty to wire fraud conspiracy due to his involvement in a sports betting scandal. CLICK HERE to read the full letter. CLICK HERE to read ESPN's exclusive coverage of the letter.



Sep 25, 2025
Letter

Chairmen Guthrie, Bilirakis, and Joyce Request Investigation into China-Backed Company Collecting Brain Wave Data on Elite American Athletes

WASHINGTON, D.C.  – Congressman Brett Guthrie (KY-02), Chairman of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, Congressman Gus Bilirakis (FL-12), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade, and Congressman John Joyce, M.D. (PA-13), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, sent letters to Pam Bondi, U.S. Attorney General, Andrew Ferguson, Chairman of the Federal Trade Commission, and Howard Lutnick, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Commerce, urging the administration to investigate and address potential national security risks posed by BrainCo, a neural technology company allegedly funded by the People’s Republic of China (PRC). KEY EXCERPTS: “The Committee on Energy and Commerce has long warned about the national and economic security risks of CCP-aligned entities accessing Americans’ personal and proprietary information. The use of American data by CCP-aligned entities, such as BrainCo, to develop and deploy AI underscores our concerns. […] The Committee urges swift action to investigate and address the potential national and economic security risks posed by BrainCo’s operations in the United States and its access to Americans’ personal information.” BACKGROUND: According to recent reporting , the company was started by MIT and Harvard scientists but has “been quietly backed by the Chinese government-linked entities for nearly a decade.”  BrainCo products reportedly harvest personalized brainwave data from users.  BrainCo is reportedly working with sanctioned PRC military contractors.  BrainCo products reportedly have been used by Olympic gold medalist Mikaela Shiffrin, number two world tennis player, Jannik Sinner, U.S. Olympic teams, and many others.  Along with DeepSeek , BrainCo is considered one of China’s “Six Little Dragons” — meaning one of the CCP’s most promising young tech startups. The PRC’s National Intelligence Law of 2017 requires PRC individuals and entities to support PRC intelligence services. CLICK HERE to read exclusive coverage of the letter. CLICK HERE to read the Hunterbrook Media story on their investigation into BrainCo. CLICK HERE to listen to the corresponding Pablo Torre Finds Out podcast episode. CLICK HERE to read the letters to Attorney General Bondi, Chairman Ferguson, and Secretary Lutnick. ###



Apr 24, 2025
Press Release

Chairmen Guthrie and Bilirakis Lead E&C Republican Letter to DeepSeek Over Relationship with Chinese Communist Party

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congressman Brett Guthrie (KY-02), Chairman of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, and Congressman Gus Bilirakis (FL-12), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade, along with 10 members of the subcommittee, sent a letter to DeepSeek regarding their data practices and close relationship with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). “DeepSeek admits to sending Americans’ personal information to servers in China, where it is undoubtedly accessed by officials connected to the Chinese Communist Party. We are concerned that this relationship with agents having close connections to our primary adversary jeopardizes our data and our national security,” said Chairmen Guthrie and Bilirakis. “To ensure Americans and their businesses are secure from foreign interference, we are launching this investigation into DeepSeek and the risks it poses to our nation.” KEY LETTER EXCERPT: “By its own admission, the company’s mobile application—available on app stores in the U.S.—is sending Americans’ personal information to servers in the People’s Republic of China. According to media reports, the company is also sharing users’ personal information with other CCP-linked entities, including ByteDance Ltd. Researchers, meanwhile, have identified serious weaknesses in DeepSeek’s purported security controls and model safeguards. To address these risks, a growing number of states, including New York, Texas, and Virginia have banned DeepSeek on government devices, with states attorneys-general calling for a broader ban.” Background: On January 20, 2025, DeepSeek launched its open-source AI chatbot. On February 18, 2025, DeepSeek was accused of sharing user data with ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok. On March 6, 2025, 21 state attorneys-general urged Congressional leadership to prohibit government devices from “downloading and using the Chinese Communist Party’s DeepSeek AI Software.” On April 16, 2025, the Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party published a report on DeepSeek funneling American data to the CCP and manipulating results to align with CCP propaganda. The Committee members requested answers to the following questions: Provide a detailed description of the types and sources of data used to train your AI models, including any U.S. personal or proprietary information. Confirm whether information entered into your AI applications or chatbots by American consumers or businesses is used to train your AI models. If yes, identify where this information is stored and accessed from, and whether it is shared with any state entity of the People’s Republic of China or other Chinese companies. Describe the technical, administrative, and physical controls used to secure personal and proprietary information associated with your AI offerings, as well as your process for evaluating the security of third-party service providers. Provide a detailed description of any U.S. technology products or services used to develop, integrate, or bring to market your AI offerings. This includes the use of open and closed source AI models developed by U.S. companies and the unauthorized “distillation” of American models. Provide a detailed description of how your AI models are developed and trained, including any steps taken to influence system outputs for alignment with Chinese Communist Party ideology or political goals. Provide a detailed description of any direct or indirect subsidies you receive from the People’s Republic of China, or its political subdivisions, related to AI development. Confirm whether your company has received a request from the People’s Republic of China, or its political subdivisions, for data related to your company’s AI offerings. This includes personal and proprietary data used to train or finetune an AI model and data ingested by your AI services. CLICK HERE to read the full letter. CLICK HERE to read the story from Fox News. ###



Apr 17, 2025
Press Release

Chairmen Guthrie, Bilirakis, and Palmer Launch Investigation into 23andMe and its Handling of Americans’ Sensitive Medical and Genetic Information

WASHINGTON, D.C.  – Today, Congressman Brett Guthrie (KY-02), Chairman of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, Congressman Gus Bilirakis (FL-12), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade, and Congressman Gary Palmer (AL-06), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, sent a letter to 23andMe regarding the handling of Americans' sensitive data following the company's decision to file for bankruptcy. KEY EXCERPT: “According to 23andMe’s privacy statement, in a bankruptcy, customers’ ‘Personal Information may be accessed, sold or transferred as part of that transaction and this Privacy Statement will apply to [customer] Personal Information as transferred to the new entity.’ Additionally, a judge recently ruled 23andMe has the right to sell the sensitive medical and genetic information of its 15 million customers, which is considered to be the company’s most valuable asset. With the lack of a federal comprehensive data privacy and security law, we write to express our great concern about the safety of Americans’ most sensitive personal information.” Background: On March 23, 2025, 23andMe initiated Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings, which could have ramifications for the highly sensitive information of millions of Americans. While Americans’ personal health information is protected under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), these protections only apply if the information is collected by a HIPAA covered entity. Generally, direct-to-consumer companies, like 23andMe, are not covered by HIPAA. Customers have reported issues accessing and deleting their data from their 23andMe accounts. The Chairmen have requested answers to the following questions: If 23andMe were to sell the personal information of its customers either as a standalone asset or as part of a broader sale of the company, what post-sale data privacy and security protections would be in place for its customers’ personal information? Please describe how the representations made in 23andMe’s privacy statement will continue to apply—and be enforced—if the personal information of 23andMe’s customers is sold to a third party. Please include in this response information about what, if anything, would hold a third-party buyer to 23andMe’s privacy statement or prevent it from subsequently using, transferring, or otherwise selling, such information in the future. Does 23andMe plan to change its privacy statement at any time prior to selling any customers’ personal information? If so, please explain the change 23andMe plans to implement and when those changes will go into effect. Does 23andMe intend to vet prospective buyers to which it may sell its customers’ personal information? If so, please detail the vetting process and whether it will include the prospective buyer’s history of implementing data security protections and compliance with sectoral, state, or any other data privacy and security laws. If not, please explain why. Please detail the categories of customer information 23andMe has, and of that what 23andMe is considering selling. Has 23andMe notified its customers of the company’s bankruptcy announcement? If so, please attach the customer notification. If not, please explain why. Has 23andMe provided its customers with a guide for how to delete, or request to delete any information currently in 23andMe’s possession? If so, please provide a copy of that guide and specify when it was provided to customers. If not, please explain why, and explain whether 23andMe will contact each of its customers and provide an opportunity to delete their personal information prior to a potential sale of the company or personal information maintained by the company. Please detail the number of requests 23andMe received from its customers to delete their personal information between when 23andMe filed for bankruptcy and the date of the response to this letter. Of those requests, please provide a breakdown of how many requests were made by customers through their 23andMe online accounts and how many were made via customer service calls because customers were unable to successfully delete their information through their online accounts. Of those requests, please detail the number of fulfilled requests. Will 23andMe offer for sale any information in which a customer has requested the deletion of such information? If so, does 23andMe’s privacy policy consider selling information a legitimate purpose for retaining information past a customer's request to delete their information? Will 23andMe deidentify its customers’ personal information prior to selling it or the company? If so, please detail which information will be deidentified. If not, please explain why the company is electing not to deidentify information. CLICK HERE to read the full letter. CLICK HERE to read the story from CNBC. ###



Jul 25, 2024
Press Release

Bipartisan E&C Leaders Press WADA President for Additional Information About its Failure to Penalize Chinese Swimmers Who Failed Drug Doping Tests

Letter comes on the eve of athletes competing in the Paris Olympics and after WADA’s President refused to attend an Energy and Commerce Committee oversight hearing Washington, D.C. — In a new letter to World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) President Witold Banka, bipartisan House Energy and Commerce Committee leaders pressed for answers regarding WADA’s handling of positive doping cases within China’s national swimming team ahead of the Tokyo Olympics. The letter contains questions that bipartisan Committee Members would have asked during a recent Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations hearing , which Mr. Banka was invited to attend but refused to appear. Witnesses that did testify at the hearing included: Michael Phelps, American swimmer and Olympic gold medalist   Allison Schmitt, American swimmer and Olympic gold medalist   Travis Tygart , Chief Executive Officer, United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) KEY EXCERPTS:   “We write today to express our sincere disappointment at your refusal to accept our invitation to attend and provide testimony at our recent Subcommittee hearing. Members of Congress have important questions for the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and are especially concerned about recent reports of your handling of dozens of cases of doping within the Chinese swimming team.  “WADA purports to maintain the integrity of sports by creating a fair and competitive sporting environment free from doping. As a U.S. taxpayer supported entity, WADA has a responsibility to the American people to ensure this integrity by enforcing international testing requirements. We believe WADA has fallen short of this important mission. ”  [...]   “ We are particularly concerned with the excessive deference being extended toward CHINADA—a state-funded operation with leadership deeply intertwined with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), as current [Chinese Anti-Doping Agency] CHINADA director Li Zhiquan also serves as a Committee Secretary for the CCP. At a meeting in 2023, Zhiquan called on CHINADA employees to be 'loyal to the party' and to 'hold high the great banner of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era.' Furthermore, WADA’s reported sponsorship arrangement with ANTA Sports—the Chinese athletic company sponsoring the Chinese Olympic Committee and China’s national swimming federation—could be perceived as a conflict of interest. Since WADA is expected to uphold and maintain international anti-doping standards, WADA’s apparent lack of skepticism and failure to enforce the rules against CHINADA is troubling. While we are aware that WADA has opened an investigation, we are concerned that international scrutiny was necessary to force due diligence that should be routine .”  [...]  “This incident unfortunately reinforces our concern that WADA appears to be reverting to its previous poor management practices.”  [...]  “With the Paris Summer Olympic Games Opening Ceremony just a day away , the Committee seeks to better understand the circumstances surrounding WADA’s decision not to appeal the decision to clear the twenty-three swimmers who tested positive for trimetazidine.”   BACKGROUND :  In January 2021, 23 Chinese swimmers (“23 swimmers”) tested positive for trimetazidine, or TMZ, a banned substance improperly used to increase stamina and hasten recovery times.  Three months after the positive tests, CHINADA initiated an investigation into the source of the TMZ and by June 2021 claimed the athletes ingested the banned substance through food tainted in a hotel kitchen.  According to reporting, Chinese investigators “offered no explanation […] for how a prescription drug available only in pill form had contaminated an entire kitchen.”  In reliance on “external legal advice” and its science department, WADA determined that CHINADA’s claims were “plausible” and chose not to appeal the decision or further investigate the matter.  Three of these Chinese swimmers went on to win gold medals at the Tokyo Olympic Games in July of 2021.  China has selected 11 swimmers that tested positive for TMZ before the Tokyo Games to compete in the upcoming Paris Games.  In a strikingly similar case, Kamila Valieva, a Russian figure skater, also tested positive for the banned substance TMZ during the 2022 Beijing Olympics.  The Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA) issued a provisional suspension but was quickly cleared by RUSADA’s discipline board, since Valieva claimed she ingested the substance by mistake through a contaminated source.  Rather than simply accept RUSADA’s contamination explanation, WADA appealed the decision and ultimately, Valieva received a four-year ban from competition and was retroactively stripped of her gold medal. The letter was signed by Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) and Committee Ranking Member Frank Pallone, Jr., (D-NJ), Subcommittee on Innovation, Data, and Commerce Chair Gus Bilirakis (R-FL) and Ranking Member Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), and Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations Chair Morgan Griffith (R-VA) and Ranking Member Kathy Castor (D-FL). CLICK HERE to read the full letter.



Jan 17, 2024
Press Release

E&C, China Select Committees Launch Inquiry into Taxpayer Funding Streams Funneled to CCP-Backed Researcher

Washington, D.C. — House Energy and Commerce Committee (E&C) Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA), E&C Subcommittee on Communications and Technology Chair Bob Latta (R-OH), E&C Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations Chair Morgan Griffith (R-VA), E&C Subcommittee on Innovation, Data, and Commerce Chair Gus Bilirakis (R-FL), and House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, launched an investigation into grants made to an AI scientist at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) with ties to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).  The Chairs made requests for documents to UCLA, the National Science Foundation (NSF), and the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD).  BACKGROUND :  On November 1, 2023, a Newsweek investigation found that the federal government awarded at least $30 million in federal research grants led by Mr. Song-Chun Zhu, who is now “at the forefront of China's race to develop the most advanced artificial intelligence.”  The investigation further revealed the NSF and DOD continued funding Mr. Zhu even as he “set up a parallel institute near Wuhan, took a position at a Beijing university whose primary goal is to support Chinese military research, and joined a CCP ‘talent plan’ whose members are tasked with transferring knowledge and technology to China.”  In particular, Newsweek found that the project once led by Mr. Zhu received $1.2 million in two grants from the Office of Naval Research in 2021, the year following his departure to China.  KEY LETTER EXCERPT:   “Mr. Zhu has openly discussed how if China takes the lead in developing a ‘truly universal intelligence,’ then it will ‘become the winner of the international technology competition.’ He has also referred to the AI race as being equivalent in military importance to the race for the atomic bomb. In a period of intensifying geopolitical competition with the CCP, ceasing federal government support for Chinese AI development is a critical national security imperative.”  CLICK HERE to read the letter to UCLA Chancellor Gener Block.  CLICK HERE to read the letter to NSF Director Sethuraman Panchanathan.  CLICK HERE to read the letter to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin. 



Dec 20, 2023
Press Release

Chairs Rodgers and Bilirakis Press China-Based Online Marketplaces on Potential Data Privacy and Human Rights Violations

Washington D.C. — House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) and Innovation, Data, and Commerce Subcommittee Chair Gus Bilirakis (R-FL), on behalf of subcommittee Republicans, sent a letter to China-based e-commerce companies raising concerns over data privacy and security risks for American users, the counterfeit products flourishing on these platforms, and reports of horrific human rights abuses.   BACKGROUND:   China-based e-commerce marketplaces, like TikTok, TaoBao, Pinduoduo, Temu, Alibaba, AliExpress, and Shein, have recently increased in popularity in the U.S.  The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) requires that all Chinese tech companies allow the CCP to access all user information, raising serious data privacy and security concerns for Americans using these platforms .  These marketplaces commonly offer “knock off” versions of products, which often undermine intellectual property laws.  Furthermore, reports have alleged that some of the sellers on these platforms may have committed egregious human rights violations, including the use of forced labor and the selling of products, like wigs, that use hair from Uyghur women forced to shave their heads.  KEY LETTER EXCERPTS:   “The rise in popularity of apps and marketplaces like, TikTok, TaoBao, Pinduoduo, Temu, Alibaba, AliExpress, and Shein, has resulted in sharp public scrutiny regarding the business practices of these companies.”  […]  “Lax policies and practices are leaving American’s data at risk of theft, leading consumers to unknowingly purchase counterfeit goods. In addition to these lax policies and practices, it is important to ensure that supply chains are free of forced labor.”  The Chairs asked companies to respond to the following questions by January 12, 2024:   Please outline the steps taken to delete personal data when requested or ordered by a user, the parent of a user who is a minor, or others authorized to make such a request.  What protections do you have in place to prevent children from spending large amounts of money on your platform?  What data practices do you require of your third-parties?  What data practices do you require of your service providers?  Please individually confirm you are not collecting or compiling the following information:  Religious beliefs;  Political opinions;  Genetic data;  Biometric data;  Data concerning health;  Data concerning racial or ethnic origin;  Data about minors.  Similar to ByteDance, does your company have an internal CCP Committee?  Please document all meetings, communication, or interactions you—or any other senior company executives—have had with members of the Chinese government or the CCP while serving as officers.   Can you provide a complete software bill of materials for all components and components of the components in the mobile app? Please include the developer information and country of origin for all listed components.  Where does your company store the signing key for iOS and Android applications? How is access to the signing keys managed, and who are the developers with access to the signing keys for the mobile application?  Please detail the data security and protections you have to prevent unauthorized access to such signing key.  How frequently is your mobile app or backend security tested? Are they tested by US personnel? To what security standard are they tested?  How frequently is user location data transmitted? Within how many feet is this location data measured?  What compliance procedures do you have in place to ensure compliance with the INFORM Consumers Act ?  We have heard employees of companies associated with the Chinese government, such as TikTok, disagree with notion that Uyghur people are facing a genocide in the Xinjian region of China. Do you agree that there is a genocide occurring in the Xinjiang region of China?  Are you aware of the PRC’s persecution of the Uyghur people, including the reports that Uyghur women’s heads have been shaved to be used for products that are shipped into the U.S.?  Are there products using natural hair that originate in the Xinjiang region available on your e-commerce marketplace?  Are there any other products that have originated from, or contain components or material that originated from the Xinjiang region?  Given the human rights abuses occurring in the Xinjiang region, do you require any additional steps or increased scrutiny for products coming from such region?   If yes, please explain.   Can you unequivocally state that your supply chain is free of forced labor?  What steps are you taking to ensure that your supply chain does not include forced labor?   CLICK HERE to read the full letter to TikTok.  CLICK HERE to read the full letter to Whaleco Inc.  CLICK HERE to read the full letter to Alibaba.  CLICK HERE to read the full letter to Shein. 



Dec 7, 2023
Press Release

House E&C, Senate Commerce Republicans Question Eventbrite over Seemingly Inconsistent Enforcement of Community Guidelines

Letter comes after Eventbrite censored conservative event while permitting pro-Hamas events Washington, D.C. — House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA), Subcommittee on Communications and Technology Chair Bob Latta (R-OH), Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations Chair Morgan Griffith (R-VA), and Subcommittee on Innovation, Data, & Commerce Chair Gus Bilirakis (R-FL), along with Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee Ranking Member Ted Cruz (R-TX) today wrote Eventbrite President and CEO Julia Hartz. The letter raises concerns over Eventbrite’s enforcement practices. BACKGROUND :  On October 23, 2023, Eventbrite removed an event listing titled, “Protecting Women’s Sports with Riley Gaines,” from its platform.    This event was intended to be a public forum for participants, including female athletes, to express issues, experiences, and consequences of biological males competing in their competitions.  Eventbrite listed “Rahm 4 Palestine (GAZA): Talk & Dinner,” scheduled for October 27, featuring a headline speaker who, after the October 7 Israeli massacre, using his verified X account, publicly posted antisemitic messaging that was viewed more than 1 million times.  A sold-out conference scheduled for November 10 in Washington, D.C., “Palestine Center 2023 Annual Conference,” was promoted on Eventbrite.    In advertising this event, organizers referred to the country of Israel as “Israeli apartheid” under Eventbrite’s “About this event” tab.  KEY LETTER EXCERPTS :  “In the last few weeks, Eventbrite, it seems, has selectively enforced its terms of service by removing some events while allowing potentially violative events to remain on the site. We raise the issues below not to dictate or remove events and users from your marketplace, but to better understand your Community Guidelines enforcement process .”  […]  “We struggle to comprehend the rationale for removing this event, while other Eventbrite listings that seemingly violate several of Eventbrite’s Community Guidelines remain live, including some that feature speakers espousing allegiance to entities designated by the U.S. Government as foreign terrorist organizations.”  […]  “Because Gaines’s promotion of the widely held view to preserve women’s athletics starkly contrasts with events on Eventbrite featuring speakers sympathetic to mass murder, this leads us to wonder if pro-terrorist and antisemitic events and event speakers do not plainly violate Eventbrite’s prohibition of content that would ‘discriminate against, harass, disparage, threaten, incite violence against, or otherwise target individuals or groups based on their actual or perceived race, ethnicity, religion, national origin.’ We seek information on what metrics Eventbrite uses to enforce its Community Guidelines on selected issues such as women’s athletics versus terrorism and antisemitism .”    CLICK HERE to read the full letter.