Romania's next government likely to include all four pro-European parties, party leader says
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Reuters
22 minutes ago
- Reuters
Musk's X says it won't cooperate with 'politically motivated' French probe
PARIS, July 21 (Reuters) - Elon Musk's social media platform X on Monday accused French prosecutors of launching a "politically-motivated criminal investigation" that threatens its users' free speech, denying all allegations and saying it would not comply with the probe. Earlier this month, Paris prosecutors stepped up a preliminary probe into X for suspected algorithmic bias and fraudulent data extraction, enlisting police to investigate alleged wrongdoing by the company or its executives. "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 social network posted on its Global Government Affairs account. "For these reasons, X has not acceded to the French authorities' demands, as we have a legal right to do." In the blistering attack, X also said the probe had been instigated by Eric Bothorel, a French lawmaker, who had accused "X of manipulating its algorithm for 'foreign interference' purposes, an allegation which is completely false". The Paris prosecutors' office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Neither did Bothorel. Musk, a former ally of U.S. President Donald Trump, has accused European governments of attacking free speech and has voiced support for some of the region's far-right parties. The French probe could deepen a rift between Washington and European capitals over what sort of discourse is permitted online, with senior officials from Trump's administration alleging the censoring of right-wing voices around the world. X said Paris prosecutors had requested it hand over "recommendation algorithm and real-time data about all user posts on the platform", for analysis by researchers David Chavalarias and Maziyar Panahi, who it said had both exhibited "open hostility towards X", calling into question the impartiality of the investigation. Panahi denied any involvement in the investigation. "My name was mentioned by mistake, based on my previous research projects with David Chavalarias, none of which have ever had any hostile intent toward X," he said in an email. "The fact my name has been mentioned in such an erroneous manner demonstrates how little regard they have for the lives of others ... I will not hesitate to pursue legal action for defamation should I receive any form of hate speech." Chavalarias did not immediately respond to a request for comment. X also chafed at the fact that it was being investigated under organised crime charges, which it said would grant the police measures including wiretapping its employees' personal devices. Pavel Durov, the Russian-born founder of the Telegram messaging app, is also under judicial supervision in France after being arrested last year and placed under formal investigation for alleged organised crime on the app. He denies guilt. Early in July, Musk responded "true" to a post on X in which Durov said the French "bureaucrats" investigating X were "waging a crusade against free speech and tech progress".
Reuters
an hour ago
- Reuters
Musk's X accuses French prosecutors of "politically motivated" probe
PARIS, July 21 (Reuters) - Elon Musk's social media platform X on Monday accused French prosecutors of launching a "politically-motivated criminal investigation" that threatens its users' free speech, denying all allegations and saying it would not comply with the probe. Earlier this month, Paris prosecutors stepped up a preliminary probe into X for suspected algorithmic bias and fraudulent data extraction, enlisting police to investigate alleged wrongdoing by the company or its executives. "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 social network posted on its Global Government Affairs account. "For these reasons, X has not acceded to the French authorities' demands, as we have a legal right to do." In the blistering attack, X also said the probe had been instigated by Eric Bothorel, a French lawmaker, who had accused "X of manipulating its algorithm for 'foreign interference' purposes, an allegation which is completely false". The Paris prosecutors' office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Neither did Bothorel. Musk, a former ally of U.S. President Donald Trump, has accused European governments of attacking free speech and has voiced support for some of the region's far-right parties. The French probe could deepen a rift between Washington and European capitals over what sort of discourse is permitted online, with senior officials from Trump's administration alleging the censoring of right-wing voices around the world. X said Paris prosecutors had requested it hand over "recommendation algorithm and real-time data about all user posts on the platform", for analysis by researchers David Chavalarias and Maziyar Panahi, who it said had both exhibited "open hostility towards X", calling into question the impartiality of the investigation. Neither Chavalarias nor Panahi immediately responded to a request for comment. X also chafed at the fact that it was being investigated under organised crime charges, which it said would grant the police measures including wiretapping its employees' personal devices. Pavel Durov, the Russian-born founder of the Telegram messaging app, is also under judicial supervision in France after being arrested last year and placed under formal investigation for alleged organised crime on the app. He denies guilt. Early in July, Musk responded "true" to a post on X in which Durov said the French "bureaucrats" investigating X were "waging a crusade against free speech and tech progress".
Reuters
an hour ago
- Reuters
US tariffs could cost Italy up to 0.8% of GDP, business lobby says
MILAN, July 21 (Reuters) - U.S. tariffs of 30% on European Union goods could shave up to 0.8% off Italy's gross domestic product in 2027, the country's main business lobby said on Monday, as transatlantic trade negotiations continued. President Donald Trump has threatened 30% tariffs on EU imports starting August 1, but his trade chief Howard Lutnick said on Sunday there was "plenty of room" for an agreement with European counterparts. If 30% tariffs are confirmed, and assuming no countermeasures from the EU, Italy's GDP would take a 0.25% hit this year, rising to 0.59% in 2026 and 0.82% in 2027, Confindustria's research unit said. Italy's main exports to the U.S. include machinery, pharmaceuticals, cars and food products such as olive oil, pasta, cheese and wine. In a separate report, professional services group EY issued even bleaker forecasts, predicting 30% tariffs would shave 1.4% off Italy's GDP for 2025-2026, effectively cutting to zero expected growth for the period. Last month, national statistics agency Istat forecast GDP growth of 0.6% this year and 0.8% in 2026. Italy's business lobby last week said the only acceptable U.S tariff would be zero as EU exports are already penalised by a depreciating dollar. The U.S. currency has lost more than 12% against the euro since the start of the year. ($1 = 0.8593 euros)
