Economic Archives | Page 349 of 707 | Digital Watch Observatory

Durov questions motives behind French arrest

Telegram founder Pavel Durov says he remains baffled by his detention in France, describing the incident as politically charged and unjustified. In his first interview since his August 2024 arrest, Durov said French prosecutors treated Telegram’s operations as a mystery.

Durov was indicted on six charges, including complicity in criminal activity, money laundering, and failing to respond to legal requests. He denied the accusations, stating that a top-tier accounting firm audits Telegram and spends millions on compliance quarterly.

‘We did nothing wrong,’ he said, accusing French authorities of failing to follow due legal process.

Carlson criticized the arrest as an attempt to humiliate Durov and questioned why civil liberties advocates were silent.

In response, Durov pointed out that over nine million Telegram users have signed a letter demanding his release. He also emphasized that Telegram is prepared to leave countries that oppose its values.

Telegram’s global user base continues to grow rapidly, reaching one billion monthly active users as of March 2025.

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Paraguay denies Bitcoin legal tender announcement

Paraguay’s government warned of possible unauthorised access to President Santiago Peña’s X account after a false Bitcoin legal tender claim. The now-deleted message announced a $5 million Bitcoin reserve fund and featured a decree with the national coat of arms.

Officials quickly noted inconsistencies in the statement’s formatting and tone. No matching information was published on government websites or state-run media. These red flags led observers to question the post’s authenticity almost immediately.

Authorities confirmed that the president’s account had shown signs of ‘irregular activity’, suggesting it may have been compromised. Citizens have been urged to ignore the claim and await verified updates through official channels.

Although countries like El Salvador have formally adopted Bitcoin as legal tender, Paraguay has made no such move. At the time of writing, no further details had been released regarding the source or method of the suspected breach.

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Reddit targets AI firm over scraped sports posts

Reddit has taken legal action against AI company Anthropic, accusing it of scraping content from the platform’s sports-focused communities.

The lawsuit claims Anthropic violated Reddit’s user agreement by collecting posts without permission, particularly from fan-driven discussions that are central to how sports content is shared online.

Redd it argues the scraping undermines its obligations to over 100 million daily users, especially around privacy and user control. According to the filing, Anthropic’s actions override assurances that users can manage or delete their content as they see fit.

The platform emphasises that users gain no benefit from technology built using their contributions.

These online sports communities are rich sources of original fan commentary and analysis. On a large scale, such content could enable AI models to imitate sports fan behaviour with impressive accuracy.

While teams or platforms might use such models to enhance engagement or communication, Reddit warns that unauthorised use brings serious ethical and legal risks.

The case could influence how AI companies handle user-generated content across the internet, not just in sports. As web scraping grows more common, the outcome of the dispute may shape future standards for AI training practices and online content rights.

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South Korea pushes stablecoin bill under new president

South Korea’s new president, Lee Jae-myung, is moving quickly on campaign pledges as the ruling Democratic Party proposes a bill to issue local stablecoins. The Digital Asset Basic Act, announced on Tuesday, aims to improve transparency and boost competition within the crypto sector.

Under the proposed law, South Korean firms could issue stablecoins if they hold at least 500 million won in equity capital. These issuers must maintain sufficient reserves and gain approval from the Financial Services Commission.

The move comes as stablecoin trading in South Korea surges, reaching 57 trillion won in Q1 alone.

Lee’s push for broader crypto integration includes proposals for the national pension fund to invest in Bitcoin and permitting Bitcoin ETFs. However, the Bank of Korea has voiced opposition, warning that private stablecoins could undermine the central bank’s control over monetary policy.

Despite uncertainties, local crypto stocks such as KakaoPay have seen sharp gains, though some analysts caution the optimism may be premature.

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Amazon boosts AI infrastructure with $20B investment

Amazon has announced a massive $20 billion investment to build two new AI-focused data centres in Pennsylvania. The exact locations are yet to be finalised, but Salem Township and Falls Township are currently leading candidates.

The move signals Amazon’s ongoing commitment to expanding its AI infrastructure amid an increasingly competitive technology race.

Alongside the data centres, Amazon has pledged to support education and workforce development across the state. Collaborations with local institutions will bring programmes for data centre technicians, fibre optic workshops and STEM learning initiatives aimed at school-aged children.

These efforts are intended to prepare the future workforce for careers in AI and cloud computing infrastructure.

The investment is part of Amazon’s broader strategy to establish the US as a global AI leader. The company highlighted that its advanced computing infrastructure and AI hardware are designed to power the next generation of generative and agentic AI, defining digital innovation’s future.

Other tech giants are making similar moves. Amazon announced a $10 billion data centre expansion in North Carolina in June.

Meanwhile, Meta, OpenAI, and Microsoft are also scaling AI operations, and crypto mining firms like Riot Platforms and Hive Digital are shifting part of their infrastructure towards high-performance computing for AI, reflecting a wider industry transformation.

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Cybersecurity alarm after 184 million credentials exposed

A vast unprotected database containing over 184 million credentials from major platforms and sectors has highlighted severe weaknesses in data security worldwide.

The leaked credentials, harvested by infostealer malware and stored in plain text, pose significant risks to consumers and businesses, underscoring an urgent need for stronger cybersecurity and better data governance.

Cybersecurity researcher Jeremiah Fowler discovered the 47 GB database exposing emails, passwords, and authorisation URLs from tech giants like Google, Microsoft, Apple, Facebook, and Snapchat, as well as banking, healthcare, and government accounts.

The data was left accessible without any encryption or authentication, making it vulnerable to anyone with the link.

The credentials were reportedly collected by infostealer malware such as Lumma Stealer, which silently steals sensitive information from infected devices. The stolen data fuels a thriving underground economy involving identity theft, fraud, and ransomware.

The breach’s scope extends beyond tech, affecting critical infrastructure like healthcare and government services, raising concerns over personal privacy and national security. With recurring data breaches becoming the norm, industries must urgently reinforce security measures.

Chief Data Officers and IT risk leaders face mounting pressure as regulatory scrutiny intensifies. The leak highlights the need for proactive data stewardship through encryption, access controls, and real-time threat detection.

Many organisations struggle with legacy systems, decentralised data, and cloud adoption, complicating governance efforts.

Enterprise leaders must treat data as a strategic asset and liability, embedding cybersecurity into business processes and supply chains. Beyond technology, cultivating a culture of accountability and vigilance is essential to prevent costly breaches and protect brand trust.

The massive leak signals a new era in data governance where transparency and relentless improvement are critical. The message is clear: there is no room for complacency in safeguarding the digital world’s most valuable assets.

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China proposes rare earth export relief for EU

China has proposed creating a ‘green channel’ for rare earth exports to the EU, aiming to ease the impact of its recent restrictions. These materials, vital to electric vehicles and household appliances, have been under stricter export controls since April.

During recent talks, Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič warned Chinese officials that the curbs had caused major disruptions across Europe, describing the situation as alarming. While some progress in licence approvals has been noted, businesses argue it remains inadequate.

The talks come as both sides prepare for a high-stakes EU-China summit and continue negotiations over tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles.

Brussels has imposed duties of up to 35.3%, citing unfair subsidies, while Beijing is pushing for a deal involving minimum pricing to avoid the tariffs.

China’s commerce ministry confirmed the discussions are in their final stage but acknowledged that more work is needed to reach a resolution.

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Hong Kong builds AI tool for breast cancer diagnosis

Researchers at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology have unveiled a pioneering AI model called MOME for non-invasive breast cancer diagnosis.

Using China’s largest multiparametric MRI breast cancer dataset, MOME performs at a level comparable to seasoned radiologists and is currently undergoing clinical trials in more than ten hospitals.

Among the institutions participating in the validation phase are Shenzhen People’s Hospital, Guangzhou First Municipal People’s Hospital, and Yunnan Cancer Center. Early results show that MOME excels in predicting response to pre-surgical chemotherapy.

The development highlights the region’s growing capabilities in medtech innovation and could reshape diagnostic strategies for breast cancer across Asia. MOME’s clinical success may also pave the way for similar AI-led models in oncology.

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Samsung pilots AI coding tool Cline for internal developers

Samsung Electronics is testing a new open-source AI coding assistant called Cline, which is expected to be adopted by its Device eXperience (DX) division as early as next month, according to Yonhap News Agency.

Cline leverages Claude 3.7 Sonnet’s advanced agentic coding capabilities to autonomously handle complex software development tasks. The goal is to significantly boost developer productivity across Samsung’s mobile and home appliance units, which are both part of the DX division.

The move aligns with Samsung’s broader AI for All strategy. Last month, the company created a dedicated AI productivity innovation group within the DX division.

This follows the establishment of an AI centre within its chip business in December 2024, further underscoring the tech giant’s commitment to embedding AI across its operations.

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Rednote launches public AI model to rival Alibaba and DeepSeek

Chinese social media giant Rednote, also known as Xiaohongshu, has released its first open-source large language model, dots.llm1, marking a major step in its AI ambitions. The model is now publicly available via Hugging Face, a popular developer platform.

By joining the growing number of firms from China open-sourcing AI models—such as Alibaba and DeepSeek—Rednote aims to foster a developer community, expand global influence, and showcase its technical progress amid US-led restrictions on advanced technology exports.

Open-sourcing also enables collaboration and experimentation in contrast to proprietary models kept under wraps by some US companies.

Although dots.llm1 performs slightly behind cutting-edge models like DeepSeek-V3, its coding capabilities rival Alibaba’s Qwen 2.5 series. The launch follows Rednote’s recent AI-powered search app, Diandian, which helps users explore Xiaohongshu’s ecosystem more intuitively.

The company began investing in large language models shortly after ChatGPT’s debut and has accelerated its AI strategy in recent months.

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