U.S. Senate Commerce Committee Ranking Member Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairwoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash) have expressed concern over the seemingly inconsistent enforcement of community guidelines by Eventbrite, a popular event management and ticketing platform. In a letter addressed to Eventbrite President and CEO Julia Hartz, the lawmakers requested details regarding the removal of events featuring comments from Riley Gaines, while allowing events promoting pro-Hamas groups to remain on the platform.
The letter highlights the selective enforcement of Eventbrite's terms of service, stating, "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." The lawmakers question the rationale behind removing an event titled "Protecting Women's Sports with Riley Gaines," while permitting events that feature speakers espousing allegiance to entities designated as foreign terrorist organizations by the U.S. Government.
Sen. Cruz and Chairwoman Rodgers express their concerns over the inconsistency in enforcement, stating, "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.'"
The lawmakers seek information on the metrics used by Eventbrite to enforce its Community Guidelines, particularly in cases involving women's athletics versus terrorism and antisemitism.
The background to this issue includes the removal of an event titled "Protecting Women's Sports with Riley Gaines" from Eventbrite's platform on October 23, 2023. The event aimed to provide a public forum for participants, including female athletes, to discuss the impact of biological males competing in female competitions. Meanwhile, Eventbrite allowed events like "Rahm 4 Palestine (GAZA): Talk & Dinner," featuring a headline speaker who publicly posted antisemitic messaging, to remain on the platform.
Furthermore, Eventbrite promoted a sold-out conference called the "Palestine Center 2023 Annual Conference," which referred to Israel as "Israeli apartheid" under the platform's "About this event" tab.
The letter was also signed by Reps. Bob Latta (R-OH), Morgan Griffith (R-VA), and Gus Bilirakis (R-FL).
This request for clarification and transparency aims to shed light on the enforcement practices of Eventbrite and ensure that community guidelines are consistently applied to all users and events on the platform.
Click this link to access more information: https://www.commerce.senate.gov/2023/12/sen-cruz-chair-rodgers-want-eventbrite-to-answer-for-de-platforming-riley-gaines-and-promoting-pro-hamas-groups
