U.S. lawmakers seek probe into Neuralink

U.S. House Representatives Blumenauer (D) and Schiff (D) seek signatures from peers for a letter to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) requesting a probe into Neuralink. The request centers around whether employees on the company’s animal testing oversight board hastily approved experiments that resulted in the unnecessary deaths and suffering of animals. The lawmakers say they are responding to a news story which revealed that Neuralink filled the panel with employees who stand to benefit financially from the start-up securing regulatory approval for its novel brain chip. The letter states, in part:

Congress has a significant interest in ensuring that all facilities using animals in research and testing – whether they are government-run, universities, or private companies – comply with the minimal standards of the Animal Welfare Act.

Neuralink is already the subject of a probe by the U.S. Department of Transportation over the company’s movement of hazardous pathogens.