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Washington, D.C. — House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Cathy Rodgers (R-WA), Subcommittee on Communications and Technology Chair Bob Latta (R-OH), Subcommittee on Health Chair Brett Guthrie (R-KY), Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations Chair Morgan Griffith (R-VA), Subcommittee on Innovation, Data, and Commerce Chair Gus Bilirakis (R-FL), Subcommittee on Environment, Manufacturing, and Critical Materials Chair Bill Johnson (R-OH), and Subcommittee on Energy, Climate, and Grid Security Jeff Duncan (R-SC) wrote to the heads of the Department of Energy, Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and Department of Commerce laying out expectations for intergovernmental cooperation regarding oversight. As Chair Rodgers said in the full committee markup of Energy and Commerce’s Authorization and Oversight Plan for the 118th Congress, “We have a responsibility to conduct oversight to get answers on behalf of those we serve and to ensure accountability so the government is responsive to the American people.” The members outline the below seven principles for each agency or department to comply with Congressional requests and provide answers the American people deserve. 1. For all requests or questions, please reproduce the requests or questions presented in a written letter with the department or agency response. 2. In the spirit of comity and inter-branch accommodation, your department or agency should endeavor to cooperate as much as possible with committee oversight requests. If your department or agency has determined it will not voluntarily cooperate with the requests, please provide electronic written notice within two business days specifying which requests you are declining to cooperate with and the stated reasons for voluntary noncooperation. 3. Your department or agency should make a determination on whether certain requests cannot be fulfilled as presented. Provide electronic written notice within one business week of receipt of the request about such determinations, stating the reasons why. If there is an alternative approach that could address the Committee’s request, then such an alternative approach should be suggested in the interests of comity and inter-branch accommodation. 4. If the department or agency needs clarification about a Committee request, your staff should make good faith efforts to contact Committee staff for assistance as soon as possible. 5. We expect your department or agency to provide a written response to our oversight requests within two weeks of receipt of the letter. If the department or agency needs additional time to respond to Committee requests, your staff should make good faith efforts to contact Committee staff for assistance as soon as possible. 6. If your department or agency has determined that certain requested documents cannot be produced pursuant to a privilege or other legal basis, your department or agency should submit an index of the withheld documents and the privilege asserted within two business weeks of receipt of the request letter. 7. If your department has determined that a requested witness cannot be made available pursuant to a privilege or other legal basis, your department or agency should submit in writing an explanation of the privilege or other legal basis asserted within two business weeks of receipt of the request letter. CLICK HERE to view the letter to Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm. CLICK HERE to view the letter to HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra. CLICK HERE to view the letter to EPA Administrator Michael Regan. CLICK HERE to view the letter to Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo.

Washington, D.C. — House Energy and Commerce Committee Republican Leader Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA), Oversight and Investigation Subcommittee Republican Leader Morgan Griffith (R-VA), Communications and Technology Subcommittee Republican Leader Bob Latta (R-OH), and Consumer Protection and Commerce Subcommittee Republican Leader Gus Bilirakis (R-FL) sent a letter to TikTok this week following reports over how the company has failed to address the sexual exploitation of kids on its platform. Excerpts and highlights from the  exclusive coverage  by Forbes: “‘TikTok has been incapable of rooting out the spate of TikTok accounts that are trading illegal child sexual content,’ four House lawmakers wrote Wednesday to TikTok’s chief, citing a November Forbes investigation that revealed how illicit private handles on the platform are hiding child abuse material in plain sight—posted using a setting that makes it visible only to the person logged in. “‘Equally troubling are the livestreams your company hosts that allow adult TikTok users to monetarily persuade children to perform sexually suggestive acts,’ the letter continued, citing a separate Forbes investigation, from April, into how adults use TikTok Live to exploit underage girls—by paying them to engage in provocative, potentially illegal behavior. “‘Considering that about half of all U.S. children use TikTok every day, our concerns enumerated above are paramount. … Therefore, we ask you [to] provide the Committee with a briefing as soon as possible, but no later than December 21,’ the memo concluded. It was led by Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers of Washington, the top Republican on the powerful Energy and Commerce Committee who, along with her counterpart on House Oversight, opened an investigation into TikTok in July over China’s ability to access U.S. user data. Reps. Gus Bilirakis of Florida, Morgan Griffith of Virginia and Bob Latta of Ohio also signed onto the letter fired off Wednesday and shared exclusively with Forbes.” CLICK HERE  to read the full Forbes story. CLICK HERE  to read the full letter to TikTok.

Washington, D.C. —  Bipartisan Energy and Commerce Committee leaders wrote to the CEO of Ticketmaster’s parent company Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. today raising concerns about potentially unfair or deceptive practices in the live ticketing industry and the chaotic ticket pre-sale for Taylor Swift’s upcoming concert tour. The Committee leaders requested a staff briefing from the company on the key areas of concern. The letter was signed by Energy and Commerce Republican Leader Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA), Committee Chairman Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ), Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee Republican Leader Morgan Griffith (R-VA) and Chair Diana DeGette (D-CO), and Consumer Protection and Commerce Subcommittee Republican Leader Gus Bilirakis (R-FL) and Chair Jan Schakowsky (D-IL). “The Energy and Commerce Committee has previously raised concerns about business practices in the live ticketing industry,”  the Committee leaders wrote.  “The recent pre-sale ticketing process for Taylor Swift’s upcoming Eras tour—in which millions of fans endured delays, lockouts, and competition with aggressive scammers, scalpers, and bots—raises concerns over the potential unfair and deceptive practices that face consumers and eventgoers.” In 2019, the Energy and Commerce Committee  launched a bipartisan investigation into allegations of unfair and deceptive practices in the live event ticketing industry. In February 2020, the Committee  held a hearing  with industry leaders including then Ticketmaster North America President Amy Howe, where she testified, “[Ticketmaster] is thoroughly committed to business practices that promote transparency, deter deceptive practices, and provide customers with the ability to enjoy a concert, show, or game.” The Committee leaders noted that the circumstances surrounding ticket sales for Swift’s upcoming tour as well as other recent major tour ticket sales cast serious doubt on those commitments. “To better understand the obstacles consumers have recently faced and to hear an update on actions the company has taken to maximize the experiences of average consumers, we request a Committee staff briefing with your company,”  the bipartisan Committee leaders continued.  “This should include a discussion on additional fees, insider reserves, dynamic pricing, restrictions on transferability, limited ticket availability, speculative ticketing, verified fan program requirements, and scalping by bots and other scammers.” Full text of the letter is available  HERE .

Details TikTok Provided in a Committee Staff Briefing Appear to be Untrue or Misleading   Washington, D.C.  — House Energy and Commerce Committee Republican Leader Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) and Committee on Oversight and Reform Ranking Member James Comer (R-KY) are raising concerns TikTok provided misleading or false information to the committees about its data sharing and privacy practices with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). In a letter to Shou Zi Chew, Chief Executive Officer of TikTok, the Republican lawmakers renew their request for all information about TikTok’s organizational structure and data sharing practices and also notify the social media company to preserve all e-mail, electronic records, and communications.   “On July 14, 2022, we wrote to you requesting documents and information regarding TikTok’s organizational structure and its data sharing and privacy practices relating to China. On July 28, 2022, you responded and on September 7, 2022, your staff provided a bipartisan briefing. However, we still have unanswered questions and you failed to provide responsive documents requested by the Committee. Additionally, some of the information TikTok provided during the staff briefing appears to be untrue or misleading, including that TikTok does not track U.S. user locations,”  wrote the Republican lawmakers.  “The information being withheld is especially relevant considering recent  New York Times  reporting suggesting TikTok and the Biden Administration may be close to an agreement to allow TikTok to remain operational in the U.S. without any major changes to its corporate structure.”  “According to reports, the Biden Administration and TikTok have been negotiating a deal to allow TikTok to remain in operation in the United States. The two sides reportedly came to terms on the foundation of an agreement that includes changes to TikTok’s data security and governance without requiring China-based ByteDance to relinquish its authority over the social media app. Reports indicate TikTok is actively imbedding trackers across the internet to gather Americans’ search data and using the app to track specific location data of designated targets.    “It appears that during the September 7, 2022, briefing by TikTok, the company shared potentially false or misleading information with bipartisan Committee staff. During the briefing, TikTok told staff that: (1) TikTok does not track users’ internet data while not using the application; and (2) that China-based employees do not have access to U.S. users’ location specific data. Both claims appear to be misleading at best, and at worst, false,”  continued the Republican lawmakers.  “It is unclear if this plan included tracking U.S. government officials, journalists, or other public figures. If true, these reports are deeply concerning and provide significant evidence that TikTok may have made misleading statements during its briefing with bipartisan Committee staff.”   Read the letter to TikTok CEO Chew  HERE .

Washington, D.C. —  House Energy and Commerce Committee Republican Leader Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) and Consumer Protection and Commerce Republican Leader Gus Bilirakis (R-FL) are asking toy manufacturers how they plan to ensure children and their information is protected online following  reports  that manufacturers are moving their marketing efforts to Big Tech companies like TikTok and YouTube in order to increase their reach and target advertisements to children on those platforms.   Big Tech has failed to protect privacy, security, and mental health of children on their platforms and on numerous occasions have violated child privacy laws like the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). Additionally, TikTok  knowingly shares  American users’, including children’s, information, with its parent company ByteDance who by law must share it with the Chinese Communist Party.   Big Tech continues to jeopardize the online privacy of children, and parents deserve transparency for how toy manufacturers—which are advertising to their children—plan to address these issues.   Excerpts and highlights from the letter:  “On September 22, Axios reported that toy manufacturers are hastily shifting their marketing dollars from traditional television outlets to social media platforms like TikTok and YouTube.  This shift reflects a larger advertising trend moving away from supporting curated content via traditional video distribution to one that is supporting user generated content on social media platforms.  “As early Black Friday sales are already occurring to provide savings for Americans paying record-high inflation, we understand you must be selective in how you use your marketing dollars.  However, as a company that depends on American consumers, your company must be scrupulous in how your marketing practices impact potential users of your products. As a company that markets products for and to children, your company must be responsible for the outlets with which it chooses to do business. It is essential to recognize your content attracts children at an early age to Big Tech platforms, including ones that have alarming ties to China.   “Unfortunately, the reported marketing practices that the toy industry has utilized deserves special attention due to the privacy and data security practices of its Big Tech partners, such as TikTok and YouTube.  These companies have a questionable history regarding the vast amount of user data collected. The data collection record for both companies gets worse for children. For example, TikTok says it requires users to be at least 13 years old to use the platform, but it does not use any age verification tools when new users sign up.  “For children on TikTok and YouTube, law enforcement agencies have found numerous times that both TikTok and YouTube have violated child privacy laws.  In February 2019, TikTok settled with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) regarding charges that the company illegally collected personal information from children violating the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), which at that time the $5.7 million in fines was the largest civil penalty ever obtained by the Commission in a children’s privacy case. Seven months later, YouTube broke the record with a payment of $136 million to the FTC to settle charges it collected personal information from children without their parents’ consent in violation of COPPA.  “In one year, the two companies racked up tens of millions in fines for collecting children’s personal  “information without parental consent. Sadly, we know these fines pale in comparison to the revenues generated by these two companies, which are in the billions of dollars.  “Due to the number of American children on social media platforms and the track record of negligence by Big Tech companies in protecting our children’s privacy, security, and mental health, we have several questions on how you will deal with companies like TikTok and YouTube during the holiday season and the vast troves of data they collect on children.”   CLICK HERE  to read the full letter to Bandai Namco.  CLICK HERE  to read the full letter to Hasbro.  CLICK HERE  to read the full letter to Mattel.  CLICK HERE  to read the full letter to MGA Entertainment.  CLICK HERE  to read the full letter to The Lego Group.  CLICK HERE  to read the full letter to the Toy Association.  Energy and Commerce Republicans are leading on strengthening privacy protections for Americans, especially when it comes stronger protections for children under the age of 17. In July, the Committee passed the bipartisan  American Data Privacy and Protection Act  which puts people back in control of their online data and ensures Big Tech faces real consequences for tracking, predicting, and manipulating children on their platforms for profit. CLICK HERE  to read more about the American Data Privacy and Protection Act.

Washington, D.C. —  House Energy and Commerce Committee Republican Leader Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA), along with Health Subcommittee Republican Leader Brett Guthrie (R-KY), Communications and Technology Subcommittee Republican Leader Bob Latta (R-OH), Consumer Protection and Commerce Subcommittee Republican Leader Gus Bilirakis (R-FL), and Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee Republican Leader Morgan Griffith (R-VA) sent letters to TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram, and the U.S. Department of Justice on doing more to crack down on illegal fentanyl sales and prevent criminals from exploiting these platforms to sell this deadly poison. Excerpts and highlights from the letter to TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew:   “We write with significant concerns regarding the use of TikTok by drug dealers to sell illicit and deadly substances, especially to children and minors.  We have read numerous reports and heard personal stories from parents who have tragically lost their children to fentanyl and fentanyl-related substances from pills purchased from drug dealers on TikTok. The loss of these young lives shows not enough is being done to crack down on this illegal activity and prevent criminals from exploiting your platform to sell this deadly poison.     “Our country’s communities and families are facing an unprecedented crisis due to the increasingly widespread presence of fentanyl and fentanyl-related substances.  In 2021, nearly 108,000 people died of drug overdoses; 71,000 of which were from fentanyl or fentanyl-related substances. Between FY2020 and FY2021, more than 10,000 pounds of illicit fentanyl were seized at our southern border, enough to kill every American seven times over. Law enforcement in communities across the country are seizing record amounts of illicit fentanyl pills, including a case earlier this summer where two Washington State men were arrested in California with 1 million pills containing fentanyl.    “The widespread availability and sale of these illicit pills containing fentanyl has led to record levels of overdose deaths. Every overdose is a tragedy and more must be done to facilitate access to treatment for those suffering from a substance use disorder (SUD).  However, many of these overdose deaths are unrelated to SUDs and have occurred in individuals taking a single pill they thought was prescription medication but was instead counterfeit and laced with fentanyl.  According to the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), these fake pills are often manufactured to resemble ‘real prescription opioid medications such as oxycodone (Oxycontin®, Percocet®), hydrocodone (Vicodin®), and alprazolam (Xanax®); or stimulants like amphetamines (Adderall®).’  “Tragically, in these instances, traditional methods to combat opioid addiction and overdoses, such as SUD treatment or distribution of fentanyl test strips, are not effective.  More must be done to combat this epidemic of tragic overdoses, and TikTok must do more to combat the illegal activity on its platform. A consistent theme of this crisis is the purchasing of pills believed to be something else by teenagers and youth using TikTok’s platform. TikTok must do more to combat the use of its platform for illegal activity, especially drug dealers peddling this dangerous poison.”   CLICK HERE  to read the full letter to TikTok. CLICK HERE  to read the full letter to Snapchat. CLICK HERE  to read the full letter to Instagram.  CLICK HERE  to read the full letter to the U.S. Department of Justice.

Washington, D.C. — President Biden and his administration continue to collude with Big Tech companies to shut down speech online simply because it doesn’t fit into their shared liberal agenda. Now, thanks to recent efforts by Attorneys General from Missouri and Louisiana, the administration has revealed some information about the direct relationship between high-ranking White House officials and social media companies. The information revealed shows how quick Big Tech is to censor Americans to appease their Democrat allies in the White House. The White House has admitted to flagging content for these companies to censor and went so far as to arrange regular meetings with Big Tech companies to brainstorm who they should silence next. These efforts are unconstitutional and an affront to the First Amendment. Energy and Commerce Republicans want to ensure the White House is completely transparent with Americans about how they and Big Tech are actively working to silence people online. That is why House Energy and Commerce Committee Republican Leader Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA), Communications and Technology Subcommittee Republican Leader Bob Latta (R-OH), and Consumer Protection and Commerce Subcommittee Republican Leader Gus Bilirakis (R-FL) today urged President Biden to preserve and share any records of the administration’s efforts to collude with Big Tech to censor Americans online.   Excerpts and highlights from the letter: “Administration officials have previously described conservative users as their political enemies, and we have previously expressed our concern that the administration’s recent actions could lead private companies to censor conservatives due to increased White House pressure.” […] “We write to express our continued concerns with the behavior of your administration and federal agencies, and to request documents and information regarding these reports.” […] “Twitter employees took several meetings from top Biden administration officials regarding speech by a conservative user of their platform. This information suggests that a specific conservative individual was targeted by White House officials, Twitter employees were aware of pressure from the White House official, and the censorship of the individual followed discussions between the White House official and Twitter.” […] “These facts raise serious questions about the pressure your administration and executive agencies are putting on companies to increase censorship and utilize these companies to censor speech that you are prohibited from restricting under the First Amendment.” CLICK HERE  to read the full letter to President Biden. CLICK HERE  to read the New York Post’s exclusive coverage of the letter.

Washington, D.C. — House Energy and Commerce Committee Republican Leader Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA), Committee Chairman Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ), and Subcommittee Leaders sent letters to the Departments of Commerce, Energy, Health and Human Services, and the Environmental Protection Agency requesting briefings to address concerns about how the U.S. government is identifying and mitigating potential compromises to its network security.  Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee Republican Leader Morgan Griffith (R-VA), Subcommittee Chairwoman Diana DeGette (D-CO), Communications and Technology Subcommittee Republican Leader Bob Latta (R-OH), Subcommittee Chairman Mike Doyle (D-PA), Consumer Protection and Commerce Subcommittee Republican Leader Gus Bilirakis (R-FL), Subcommittee Chairwoman Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), Energy Subcommittee Republican Leader Fred Upton (R-MI), Subcommittee Chairman Bobby Rush (D-IL), Environment and Climate Change Republican Leader David McKinley (R-WV), Subcommittee Chairman Paul Tonko (D-NY), Health Subcommittee Republican Leader Brett Guthrie (R-KY), and Subcommittee Chairwoman Anna G. Eshoo (D-CA) also joined in sending the letters to the federal agencies.  Excerpts and highlights from the letter to Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm:  “Secretary Granholm:   “We write to request a briefing from your department related to the recent open-source software vulnerability—Apache Log4j. The ubiquitous nature of this vulnerability and the hundreds of thousands of known exploits since its disclosure raise concerns about how the U.S. government is identifying and mitigating potential compromises to its network security.”   […]   “On December 11, 2021, CISA Director Jen Easterly stated that ‘this vulnerability, which is being widely exploited by a growing set of threat actors, presents an urgent challenge to network defenders given its broad use.’ She later added, ‘[t]o be clear, this vulnerability poses a severe risk. We will only minimize potential impacts through collaborative efforts between government and the private sector.’”   […]   “Over the past several years, the Committee has done extensive work on cyber threats, including hearings and investigations examining the information-security programs and controls over key computer systems and networks at multiple agencies under the Committee’s jurisdiction.  Because the Log4j vulnerability is widespread and can affect enterprise applications, embedded systems, and their sub-components, the Committee is seeking to gain a comprehensive understanding of the scope of the vulnerability and actions being taken to mitigate its effects. The risk to federal network security is especially concerning because nation-state threat actors have attempted to exploit this Log4j vulnerability.   “Accordingly, we request a staff briefing to discuss your department’s response to the Log4j vulnerability by August 10, 2022, including the following questions:  When did your department first learn of the Log4j vulnerability?  When did your department first learn of the Log4j vulnerability?  What specific actions has your department taken in response to CISA’s guidance in December 2021 and subsequent directive on April 8, 2022, regarding the Log4j vulnerability?   What tools does your department employ to detect all instances of the Log4j vulnerability on your networks? What is your department’s schedule for identifying the Log4j vulnerability?  Does your department employ software that utilizes Apache Log4j? If so, how many software products employed by the department include the Log4j vulnerability?   Has your department been impacted by a compromise or exploitation of the Log4j vulnerability? If so, when was your department first compromised, when did you detect the compromise, what was the extent of the compromise, and how did the department address the compromise?   What incident alert thresholds does your department have for potential compromises generally, and what are your requirements for escalating and reporting anomalies?  Does your department have a specific plan to identify and remediate, on an ongoing basis, software that it uses to ensure the department is not currently using software vulnerable to a cyber threat?”  CLICK HERE to read the letter to the Department of Commerce.   CLICK HERE to read the letter to the Department of Energy.   CLICK HERE to read the letter to the Department of Health and Human Services.   CLICK HERE to read the letter to the Environmental Protection Agency.   CLICK HERE to read the letter to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration. 

Washington, D.C. — House Energy and Commerce Committee Republican Leader Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) and other Republican leaders on the Committee are demanding transparency from the Poynter Institute, the parent company of PolitiFact, for its clear biased and politically motivated decisions that help Big Tech censor Americans on their platforms.  As reported exclusively by Breitbart :  “House Republicans are demanding answers from The Poynter Institute, one of the nation’s most impactful ‘fact-checkers,’ over President Joe Biden’s definition of a ‘recession,’ according to a letter exclusively obtained by Breitbart News.  […]  “In a letter to PolitiFact’s parent company Poynter Institute, House Republicans on the Energy and Commerce Committee, led by ranking member Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA), demanded answers about how the company conducts its fact-checking and if it has colluded with the Biden administration.   […]  “The letter also pointed to reports earlier in the year that Biden’s administration was using federal funds to buy crackpipes for ‘safe smoking kits,’ being labeled false by these fact-checkers, despite it being proven true.  “‘More recently, PolitiFact incorrectly labeled third-party content that challenges the Biden administration’s definition of a recession as ‘false information,’ the letter said.  “McMorris Rodgers even noted that former President Bill Clinton (D) defined a recession by the traditional two consecutive quarters definition.  […]   “Our country is founded on the battle of ideas and having a robust discussion about the state of our nation,’ the letter said. ‘Holding our government accountable through fact-based journalism, including by questioning claims from the White House, is foundational to our democracy.’  “Not only does this seem to violate Poynter’s core principles, but it creates an echo chamber of misleading information to participants in active debate, the opposite of Poynter’s and fact checkers’ stated purpose.”  CLICK HERE to read the full Breitbart exclusive.  In the letter, Republican leaders ask Poynter Institute President Neil Brown:   Who develops the standards that Poynter uses to certify its fact-checkers?  What process does Poynter use to certify its fact-checkers?  Has Poynter or any of its certified fact checkers communicated with any officials in the Biden administration regarding the definition of a recession? Has Poynter provided guidance to its fact checkers regarding statements by Biden administration officials on the definition of a recession?  How does Poynter define misinformation, and does Poynter enforce its fact-checkers that moderate misinformation to ensure the same definition is used by each fact-checker certified by Poynter?  How does Poynter conduct quality control for its certification of fact-checkers to ensure Poynter-certified fact checkers uphold the Poynter code of principles?  How does Poynter ensure impartiality when assessing the accuracy and non-partisanship of PolitiFact, given the financial interest Poynter has in PolitiFact?  If a Poynter-certified fact-checker is determined to be flagging content inaccurately, is there a process that a user can challenge their accreditation by Poynter?  Has Poynter or any of its certified fact checkers communicated with Big Tech platforms regarding the definition of a recession? Has Poynter provided any guidance to Big Tech Platforms regarding the definition of a recession?  CLICK HERE to read the letter to Poynter Institute President Brown.  CLICK HERE to read Leader Rodgers recent Op Ed with Babylon Bee CEO Seth Dillon and members of the House Republican Big Tech Task Force on how to hold Big Tech accountable for censoring Americans.