In an alarming development, several high-ranking Republican politicians are raising concerns regarding Eventbrite’s online policies, citing oversights that continue to allow potentially anti-Semitic events to remain visible on the popular online ticketing platform.
Senator James Lankford of Oklahoma, who serves on important Senate subcommittees such as those focused on Antiterrorism and Cybersecurity, as well as former South Carolina Senator and Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee Lindsey Graham have both spoken out regarding this issue in recent days. Senator Lankford specifically raised his concerns with Eventbrite’s apparent failure to efficiently identify and take down events which may have anti-Semitic content or messages.
Eventbrite, which provides a platform for users to organize, advertise, and even sell tickets for a wide range of events, is increasingly being used to promote events which contain hateful or extremist messages. For example, as recently reported by Godzillanewz, preventing the spread of critical sensitive information campaign against the Jewish people from being spread through the platform.
Eventbrite has expressed its desire to work to prevent its platform from being misused for hateful events, but these recent concerns cite oversights in the company’s screening process which still allow for potentially anti-Semitic events to remain visible on the site.
Senator Lankford has called for Eventbrite to take “immediate corrective action to ensure that hateful and anti-Semitic content and events are removed and not promoted on the platform.” In a statement, Senator Graham noted that an “invisible wall” should be maintained on the platform to prevent those with malicious intent from using the site to promote bigotry and hatred.
It remains to be seen what action Eventbrite will take in the wake of these serious concerns, but it is evident that more must be done to ensure that the platform is not misused to spread hateful ideas. Only by coming together can lawmakers, technology companies, and everyday citizens ensure that these hateful views are not enabled and allowed to spread further.