&w=3840&q=100)
X slams French probe into algorithm manipulation as politically driven attack on free speech
Elon Musk's social media platform X has pushed back against a French criminal investigation into alleged algorithmic manipulation, describing the probe as politically motivated and an attempt to curb free expression.
In a statement issued on Monday (July 21), X claimed it had been asked by French authorities to hand over access to its recommendation algorithm and 'data about all user posts on the platform'. The platform said it had refused to comply with the request and had yet to receive clarity on the specific accusations being levelled against it.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD
'Based on what we know so far, X believes that this investigation is distorting French law in order to serve a political agenda and, ultimately, restrict free speech,' the company said.
The Paris prosecutor's office said on July 11 that it had opened the inquiry following reports submitted in January by a French MP and a senior official. It is investigating possible violations including 'tampering with the functioning of an automated data processing system' and the 'fraudulent extraction of data'.
The prosecutor's office confirmed it had asked for access to X's algorithm in a letter dated July 19 but insisted it had not sought user data. X alleged that the inquiry was 'instigated' by Éric Bothorel, a lawmaker from President Emmanuel Macron's Renaissance party.
Bothorel told the Financial Times that he had flagged several issues with the platform to prosecutors, including its alleged lack of content moderation and what he characterised as the 'biased promotion of rightwing content'.
'If the justice system is taking next steps . . . it means they think it is necessary,' Bothorel said. He cited Elon Musk's promotion of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party in January as a cause for concern.
The French probe runs parallel to broader scrutiny of X by the European Commission, which is examining whether the company has breached the EU's Digital Services Act (DSA), a sweeping regulation aimed at curbing online harms. Brussels has delayed a decision on that inquiry until September.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD
Last week, the Commission reportedly discussed potentially harmful or illegal responses generated by Grok, the AI chatbot developed by Musk's xAI, in conversations with X executives. A formal investigation remains under consideration.
Bothorel criticised the EU's slow progress in enforcing DSA rules, saying: 'It's disheartening to see the European Union fail to take responsibility when it comes to enforcing — and especially applying— the sanctions regimes that were envisioned under the DSA and DMA.'
'If I chose to refer the matter to the justice system, it was also to provoke the commission a bit,' he added.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Hindu
27 minutes ago
- The Hindu
India-U.S. trade deal: Deadlock over agri continues, but Trump surprise not ruled out
With the August 1 deadline approaching, agriculture continues to loom large as an impediment to a trade deal between India and the U.S. India continues to hold firm against opening up the sector to imports to protect Indian farmers, and the U.S. remains keen that the sector be opened up as such a deal would set the precedent for future deals it strikes with the EU and Japan. Officials, however, are not ruling out a last-minute surprise from U.S. President Donald Trump, similar to what happened with Indonesia and Vietnam. 'The Indian team is back from the U.S. and has left them with what India has to offer,' an official aware of the negotiations told The Hindu. 'Now, whether they accept the terms or not is up to them. Agriculture remains a major issue where there is lack of agreement.' India has been resisting the opening up of the agriculture sector to imports to protect domestic farmers. According to the official, however, opening up the Indian market to U.S. agricultural imports is not just about market access. 'India is one of the few countries that is pushing very hard for a deal,' the official said. 'So, it is likely a deal with India will be concluded before the U.S. concludes a deal with the EU or Japan. If agriculture is excluded from the India deal, then that could set the precedent for the EU and Japan deals, and the U.S. doesn't want to risk that.' However, according to another source, the bulk of India's negotiation points are now aimed at a broader Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) by September or October this year, rather than a 'mini deal' before August 1. Yet, the government is prepared for a surprise deal announced by U.S. President Donald Trump. 'See what happened with Indonesia and Vietnam; the U.S. President announced details of the deal that both Indonesian and Vietnamese negotiators said were not part of what they agreed to,' the second source said. 'This was done after a phone conversation between Mr. Trump and the heads of Indonesia and Vietnam, respectively. The same can always pop up with India; we have not ruled it out.' Both sources confirmed that, while agriculture and dairy remain hurdles from the Indian side, a key hurdle from the U.S. side is their reluctance to reduce import duties on automotive components to zero.
Time of India
27 minutes ago
- Time of India
‘Existential issues not just Europe's concern': India counters Western pressure on Russian oil
As Prime Minister Narendra Modi prepares for his upcoming visit to the United Kingdom, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri has pushed back against renewed Western criticism over India's continued imports of Russian oil. Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Misri emphasised that India's energy security remains a fundamental priority and warned against viewing the global energy crisis through a narrow, Eurocentric lens. While acknowledging the gravity of the security crisis in Europe stemming from Russia's war in Ukraine, Misri stressed that other parts of the world are facing their own urgent and potentially existential challenges — many tied to energy affordability and access. "On energy-related issues itself, also, as we have said previously, it is important not to have double standards and to have a clear-eyed perception of what the global situation is insofar as the broader energy market is concerned... We do understand that there is an important and serious security issue that is confronting Europe, but the rest of the world is also there. It is also dealing with issues that are existential for the rest of the world, and I think it's important to keep balance and perspective when talking about these issues," Misri was quoted as saying. He argued for a balanced, globally inclusive perspective on energy policy and warned against double standards in applying sanctions or pressuring energy partners. EU sanctions put India's oil exports at risk His remarks come as the European Union rolls out a fresh round of sanctions targeting Russia's oil revenues. The new restrictions — aimed at curbing Moscow's ability to finance its war effort — include tighter controls on fuels derived from Russian crude, a lower price cap, and new banking penalties. Among the targets is an Indian refinery operating in partnership with Russian energy giant Rosneft, raising concerns about collateral damage to India's energy trade. The EU's crackdown is expected to affect countries like India, Turkey, and the UAE, which process Russian crude and export refined products such as diesel and jet fuel — often to European buyers. Analysts warn that this could pose a direct threat to India's export earnings. According to trade policy think tank GTRI, India's petroleum product exports to the EU have already fallen sharply — from $19.2 billion in FY24 to $15 billion in FY25, a drop of over 27per cent. The EU's new sanctions may further squeeze India's $5 billion in oil-derived exports to the bloc, especially since they now prohibit imports of refined fuel made from Russian crude, even if processed outside Russia. At the same time, India's reliance on Russian oil has grown. In FY2025, India imported over $50 billion worth of crude oil from Russia — making up more than a third of its total oil import bill of $143 billion. U.S. threatens harsh tariffs on Russian oil buyers Meanwhile, Washington has also adopted a tougher stance. US President Donald Trump and several U.S. lawmakers have threatened punitive trade measures against countries like India, China, and Brazil for maintaining energy ties with Moscow. Senator Lindsey Graham, speaking on Fox News, warned that the U.S. would impose steep tariffs on nations buying Russian oil, accusing them of enabling the war through "blood money." Trump has gone a step further, saying the U.S. would levy 100per cent secondary tariffs on any country continuing to import Russian fossil fuels, unless Russian President Vladimir Putin agrees to a peace deal within 50 days. His remarks came during a meeting with NATO officials, signaling that this could become a key foreign policy position in a potential second Trump administration.
NDTV
34 minutes ago
- NDTV
How A Gaza Refugee Artist Embroiders Her 'Pain' On Canvas
France: In her new Paris home, Palestinian artist Maha Al-Daya pulled a needle and thread through material as news for war-torn Gaza blared in the background. "Before the war I used to embroider for happy occasions, but today I stitch away my pain," said the 41-year-old visual artist, who also paints. Daya, her husband, and three children -- aged eight, 15, and 18 -- are among several hundreds of Palestinians to have been granted a visa to France since the Gaza war broke out in October 2023. Stitch after stitch, Daya embroiders impressions of the war onto drab-coloured material. In one work, she has stitched red thread over most of a map of Gaza to show areas ravaged by now more than 21 months of war. In another, Daya has sewn the Arabic words "Stop the genocide" in black wool. Rights groups, lawyers, and some Israeli historians have described the Gaza war as "genocide". Israel, created in the aftermath of the Nazi Holocaust of Jews during World War II, vehemently rejects the accusation. From wedding dresses to war Palestinians have for centuries painstakingly sewn long black dresses and adorned them with stark red embroidery, in designs still worn today in rural areas and at weddings or other celebrations. But today, Daya is using it to highlight the suffering of two million Gazans in the latest Israeli bombardment campaign against the besieged Palestinian territory. Palestinian militant group Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023, leading to the deaths of 1,219 people, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures. Of the 251 people taken hostage that day, 49 are still in Gaza, including 27, the Israeli military says, are dead. Israel's retaliatory military campaign has killed 58,895 Palestinians, most of them civilians, according to the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza. Humanitarian groups say Gaza's population is facing famine-like conditions. In April this year, Daya met French President Emmanuel Macron to show him her work when it was exhibited at the French capital's Arab World Institute. She says she gave him an embroidery bearing the words "Where are we going to go now?" "Everybody is always saying this because we're always being displaced," Daya said. 'Just a few days' Daya and her family lived through six months of conflict in Gaza before they were able to escape the Palestinian territory. Just days after the war started, she and her children fled their home in Gaza City -- and its flowered balcony -- with just some clothes stuffed into backpacks. "I thought, it's just for a few days, we'll be back," she said. "We had no idea it would last for so long." They found refuge with friends of a nephew in the southern city of Khan Younis -- people they had never met before but who were incredibly kind to them, she said. But in mid-December, bombardment hit that house, gravely wounding two of her nephews, one of whom had to undergo an amputation. They then lived in a tent for four months. "The cold was unbearable. In winter, rain would come inside," she said. But they had heard of a Cairo-based agency that could put their names on a list so they could leave via the crossing point with Egypt for a fee of $4,000 a person. A Bethlehem artist raised the funds to pay in exchange for future works by her and her husband, also an artist. 'Difficult to find peace' In Cairo, she started embroidering. Her husband picked up a paint brush again. "We were like birds who had been freed from their cage," she said. A non-profit set up to help Gaza artists called Maan helped her apply for PAUSE, a French government programme for researchers and artists in need. Her application was accepted by Sciences Po and the Paris-based branch of Columbia University. After nine months in Egypt, the family landed in Paris. Daya started attending French courses in the morning and embroidering in the afternoon. In the evening, she joins her family in the university residence where they now live. Yaffa, eight years old, Rima, 15, and Adam, 18, are back in school. "When I arrived here, I was happy," she said. "But at the same time, there's a sort of internal pain. While there's still war over there, while people are dying, it's difficult to find peace." (Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
