As reported by Associated Press,
French authorities handed preliminary charges to Telegram CEO Pavel Durov on Wednesday for allowing alleged criminal activity on his messaging app and barred him from leaving France pending further investigation.
Both free-speech advocates and authoritarian governments have spoken in Durov’s defense since his weekend arrest. The case has also called attention to the challenges of policing illegal activity online, and to the Russia-born Durov’s own unusual biography and multiple passports.
Durov was detained Saturday at Le Bourget airport outside Paris as part of a sweeping investigation opened earlier this year, and released earlier Wednesday after four days of questioning. Investigative judges filed preliminary charges Wednesday night and ordered him to pay 5 million euros bail and to report to a police station twice a week, according to a statement from the Paris prosecutor’s office.
Allegations against Durov, who is also a French citizen, include that his platform is being used for child sexual abuse material and drug trafficking, and that Telegram refused to share information or documents with investigators when required by law.
The first preliminary charge against him was for ‘’complicity in managing an online platform to allow illicit transactions by an organized group,’’ a crime that can lead to sentences of up to 10 years in prison and 500,000 euro fine, the prosecutor’s office said.
Preliminary charges under French law mean magistrates have strong reason to believe a crime was committed but allow more time for further investigation.
David-Olivier Kaminski, a lawyer for Durov, was quoted by French media as saying “it’s totally absurd to think that the person in charge of a social network could be implicated in criminal acts that don’t concern him, directly or indirectly.”
Prosecutors said Durov is, “at this stage, the only person implicated in this case.” They did not exclude the possibility that other people are being investigated, but declined to comment on other possible arrest warrants. Any other arrest warrant would be revealed only if the target of such a warrant is detained and informed of their rights, prosecutors said in a statement to the AP.
French authorities opened a preliminary investigation in February in response to ’’the near total absence of a response by Telegram to judicial requests″ for data for pursuing suspects, notably those accused of crimes against children, the prosecutor’s office said.
Based on PetaPixel’s article,
Since 2021, Google has banned ads that target users under 18 based on age, gender, or interests.
According to a report by the Financial Times, Google worked on a marketing project for Meta that was designed to target 13 to 17-year-old YouTube users with ads that promoted Instagram. These ads were intended to bring more tennagers to Instagram.
According to Google’s website, the “unknown” category is defined as users “whose age, gender, parental status, or household income we haven’t identified.” It can allow advertisers to reach “a significantly wider audience” when selected.
However, according to internal documents seen by the Financial Times and people familiar with the matter, Google was aware that the “unknown” user category leaned towards those under 18 but allowed the campaign anyway.
This is in direct violation of Google’s own rules for how minors are advertised to.
Google initiated an investigation into the allegations made in the report, after the company was contacted by the Financial Times. The marketing project has now reportedly been canceled.
“We prohibit ads being personalized to people under-18, period,” a spokesperson for Google tells the Financial Times.
The spokesperson adds: “We’ll also be taking additional action to reinforce with sales representatives that they must not help advertisers or agencies run campaigns attempting to work around our policies.”
As reported by Bloomberg,
The US sued Thoma Bravo LLC’s RealPage Inc. for allegedly violating antitrust law by helping property managers collude to drive up rental prices on millions of units across the country.
In a complaint filed by the Justice Department on Friday, antitrust enforcers said RealPage’s software, which helps landlords set rental unit pricing, has effectively raised prices on renters illegally. RealPage is a top software provider to the multifamily rental industry.
“RealPage has built a business out of frustrating the natural forces of competition,” according to the lawsuit, which cites allegedly anticompetitive remarks by company executives. “A rising tide raises all ships” is more than a marketing mantra, the government said.
According to the US, RealPage’s vice president of revenue management advisory services said the mantra meant “there is greater good in everybody succeeding versus essentially trying to compete against one another in a way that actually keeps the entire industry down.”
The lawsuit, filed in federal court in North Carolina, represents the Justice Department’s first big algorithmic collusion case as alleged schemes become more sophisticated through the use of technology, department officials say.
“Americans should not have to pay more in rent simply because a company has found a new way to scheme with landlords to break the law,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said at a press conference after the suit was filed. Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco added, “Training a machine to break the law is still breaking the law.”
The average US rent has skyrocketed by 33% since the beginning of the pandemic, according a Zillow index.
RealPage said it is following the law and has worked with the Justice Department to remain in compliance.
“RealPage’s revenue management software is purposely built to be legally compliant, and we have a history of working constructively with the DOJ to show that,” the company said in a statement, referring to the Justice Department.
As reported by Quartz,
Chip giant Nvidia is in talks with OpenAI about potentially contributing $100 million in funding, Bloomberg reported citing people familiar with the matter. Apple and Microsoft are also considering providing financing.
This new round of fundraising, led by venture-capital firm Thrive Capital with a $1 billion investment, would value OpenAI at upwards of $100 billion, The Wall Street Journal first reported Wednesday.
Microsoft owns a 49% share of OpenAI’s profits after contributing approximately $13 billion to startup, including $10 billion in backing in January 2023.
Over the past two years, OpenAI has become the most influential generative AI company on the market. ChatGPT hit 100 million weekly users earlier this year, and kicked off the genAI and chatbot boom with the success of its flagship model.
As reported by TechRadar,
National Public Data has finally confirmed it suffered a massive data breach that resulted in the theft and subsequent public leaking of millions of sensitive personal records.
The compromised information leaked includes names, Social Security numbers, email addresses, home addresses, and phone numbers for individuals living in the US, Canada, and the UK.
An estimated 2.9 billion records have reportedly been circulating the dark web since April 2024, highlighting the scale and scope of the breach at the background check service.
National Public Data, which collects public records at various government levels, confirmed that the breach occurred in December 2023, and leaks followed in April 2024.
In a statement (via The Register), the company confirmed: “We conducted an investigation and subsequent information has come to light.”
The data, which spans over 30 years and includes address histories and family connections, was stolen by a hacker using the alias SXUL. The data was later passed to another cybercriminal, known as USDoD, to sell, and was initially offered for sale at $3.5 million.
Last week, a threat actor named Fenice released 2.7 billion records from the collection for free.
The breach has sparked a class-action lawsuit, with the leaked data still posing significant risks for identity theft and fraud. Individuals impacted by the breach are being advised to monitor their financial accounts for suspicious activity and be cautious of potential phishing attempts exploiting the leaked information.
Troy Hunt, known for breach notification website HaveIBeenPwned.com, highlighted that the leak includes 134 million unique email addresses and 272 million SSNs, with an average age of 70 years for the affected individuals.
While some of the information may be outdated the sheer scale of the breach underscores the critical need for robust protection practices in an increasingly digitally connected world.
