US House Of Representatives Members Ask Regulators To Investigate Neuralink Supervision Panels Due To Eksprimens

The Neuralink team is carrying out an operation in their trial. (photo: twitter @Neuralink)

JAKARTA - Members of the United States House of Representatives (DPR), Earl Francis Blumenauer and Adam Schiff, both from the Democratic Party, will ask regulators to investigate whether the composition of panels overseeing animal testing at Elon Musk's company, Neuralink, contributes to hasty and messy experiments.

According to a Reuters report on May 4, Neuralink filled its supervisory board with company employees who would benefit financially if the company obtained regulatory approval for its innovative brain chip. The panel approved experiments that led to unnecessary animal deaths and suffering.

Blumenauer and Schiff have signed a draft letter to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) requesting an investigation into how Neuralink oversees its experiments. They have shared the draft with their colleagues to collect more signatures and plan to send them to USDA on Monday.

"Congress has significant interest in ensuring that all facilities that use animals in research and testing - whether run by government, university, or private companies - comply with the minimum standards of the Animal Welfare Act," the draft read.

Neuralink has been the subject of a previous federal investigation. On December 5, Reuters reported that USDA Inspector General was investigating potential violations of the Animal Welfare Act, which regulates how researchers treat and test several types of animals. The investigation is also investigating USDA's surveillance of Neuralink.

The US Department of Transport said in February that it was investigating Neuralink regarding the movement of dangerous pathogens. An agency spokesman said the investigation was still ongoing, without providing details.

The Inspector General and USDA did not respond to requests for comment regarding the progress of the investigation. Neuralink has tried to get approval to advance to human trials after an earlier attempt was rejected last year by the Food and Drug Administration due to safety concerns.