POLITICS AUGUST 6, 2019 / 8:29 PM / UPDATED 19 MINUTES AGO

8chan owner called before U.S. Congress, as latest host drops site

Katie Paul, Elizabeth Culliford
4 MIN READ

(Reuters) - Online message board 8chan’s fortunes worsened on Tuesday, as the site was once again made homeless by a technical services provider and its owner was called to testify before the U.S. Congress after 8chan was linked to the weekend mass shooting in El Paso, Texas.

The House of Representatives Homeland Security Committee demanded that owner Jim Watkins, an American living in the Philippines, testify about 8chan’s efforts to address “the proliferation of extremist content, including white supremacist content.”

The committee's Democratic chairman, Bennie Thompson, and Mike Rogers, the committee's ranking Republican, sent a letter to Watkins asking him to appear before the committee, noting that the El Paso massacre "is at least the third act of supremacist violence linked to your website this year."

8chan was offline on Tuesday after Seattle-based Epik became the latest provider to cut ties. In a statement, Epik’s chief executive, Rob Monster, cited concerns about the site’s “inadequate enforcement and the elevated possibility of violent radicalization.”

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