LONDON — The United States and other nations in the Five Eyes intelligence partnership on Wednesday took the unusual step of issuing a joint warning that China is using LinkedIn and other job platforms to pry secret information from security professionals worldwide. Source link
“After literature, the censor Bolloré now wants to control filmmaking. It is unacceptable to allow a billionaire to threaten artists in this way,” said hard-left leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon, threatening to dismantle Bolloré’s empire. Socialist leader Olivier Faure slammed the move by Canal+ as a sign that “the far right has never liked freedom, creativity, or public service.” More diplomatically, Culture Minister Catherine Pégard regretted Canal+’s “disproportionate, to say the least” reaction to “the very real concerns that were raised.” The conservative mayor of Cannes, David Lisnard, slammed the artists as masochists for “biting the hand that feeds them.” Canal+ declined POLITICO’s request for comment, but Bolloré’s son, Cyrille, president of the Bolloré group, brushed off fears on Wednesday that Canal+ would choose projects based on political orientation. “No, there is no political project,” he said. France’s Citizen Kane The uproar has illustrated how deeply connected French cinema is to Canal+, which financed seven of the nine movies that won awards at Cannes this year, including the prestigious Palme d’Or. Source link
Speaking to reporters in Berlin, government spokesperson Stefan Kornelius dismissed Greer’s warning that if implemented the proposal “would be at odds with the Turnberry Agreement.” Germany remains committed to “very close and constructive trade relations” with the U.S., Kornelius said. He also maintained the proposed obligations fall squarely within accepted cultural policy rules. “It is agreed that no unjustified digital trade barriers will be erected. And we are adhering to that,” the spokesperson said, adding that the investment obligations “do not constitute market access barriers” and that the funds would flow directly into productions that streamers themselves can exploit commercially. “This is therefore not a levy or a tax.” Kornelius also pointed to existing precedents, describing Germany’s proposal as “very moderate by European standards.” France already requires major streamers to invest at least 20 percent of local revenue into French and European productions, while Italy set its quota at 16 percent in 2024. Both operate under the EU’s Audiovisual Media Services Directive, which allows member countries to require platforms to financially support European works, and …
“If this tax on American companies is enacted, it would be at odds with the Turnberry Agreement, in which the European Union committed to ‘address unjustified digital trade barriers’ — not erect new ones,” Greer said. The criticism follows scrutiny by Republicans in Washington of a similar Canadian streaming law requiring tech platforms to financially support domestic cultural production. House Republicans in March introduced legislation seeking a U.S. trade investigation into Canada’s Online Streaming Act, arguing it unfairly targets American companies and could justify retaliatory tariffs. Germany’s proposed law would require streaming companies and broadcasters to invest at least 8 percent of their annual German revenues into domestic and wider European film and television production, or face financial penalties. Berlin also announced plans to nearly double public support for local productions to €250 million. Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil defended the overhaul in February, saying it would create “planning certainty for more investment in national and international productions” and send “a clear signal” for Germany’s media industry and “cultural diversity.” Netflix has pushed back. “If regulation …
The 53-year-old pediatrician emerged as a figurehead in a wave of protests against the country’s political establishment, following the crash and a perceived cover-up by the authorities. She ultimately alienated many people, however, with comments that veered close to right-wing populism on topics such as abortion rights and relations with Turkey. “Her positions are very reminiscent of [Italy’s] 5Star Movement, but with a much stronger patriotic and nationalist slant and a focus on corruption,” Seriatos said. “While it started with moral capital and it seemed that many people would be receptive to what it had to say politically, she is on a downward trajectory,” he added. Critics have also accused her of surrounding herself with figures who maintain pro-Russian views or ties to Moscow. Another party from the right of the political spectrum is likely to emerge from former Prime Minister and New Democracy leader Antonis Samaras. He was expelled from the party back in 2024 after strongly criticizing government policies, including on the relationship with neighboring Turkey, as well as what he considers “woke” …
In a letter to the national parliament published on Tuesday, State Secretary for Digital Economy Willemijn Aerdts said the national authority charged with screening investments had advised the government to block the acquisition. The purchase was seen as posing “a possible risk to the public interest.” The government on Monday decided to adopt the advice and block the acquisition, Aerdts said. “The Netherlands attaches great value to the presence of foreign, especially U.S.-based tech companies, and their added value to the Dutch economy and digital infrastructure, but it maintains, at the same time, an independent investment screening framework aimed at protecting the public interest and which applies equally to all investors, independent of their country of origin,” the letter read. The decision comes a week before the European Commission is set to unveil its tech sovereignty package, a set of proposals to reduce Europe’s reliance on foreign technology in the areas of cloud, microchips and AI. Kyndryl said in a statement it was “extremely disappointed” about the decision. “The politicization of this process has overshadowed …
A poster featuring Elon Musk, calling for users of his X social media platform to delete their accounts due to the AI chatbot Grok’s image-creation feature. | Justin Tallis/AFP via Getty Images It urged ministers to pass new legislation explicitly covering generative AI services – a recommendation the government rejected a month later, on the basis that amending the Act before it was fully in force risked ”complicat[ing] and undermin[ing]” implementation. “The vibe has very much been one of ‘trust the process,’” Owen Bennett, who led international online safety at Ofcom until December 2025 and now works as an independent digital policy consultant, said. Various parts of the OSA took time to come into force, but now key duties are in force, that “grace period” is passed, Bennett said. Pre-Grok, the U.K. government was also clearly signaling that it didn’t intend to follow Australia’s lead in banning social media for children, with a spokesperson for No.10 Downing Street saying in December there were no plans to implement a ban and “it’s important we protect children …
Sharing the AI load As Europe wakes up to its dependence on private tech from the U.S. and China, some countries are weighing whether building a digital embassy is better than relying on a private cloud service. Luxembourg’s Deputy Prime Minister Xavier Bettel, who says the principality has become a trusted digital partner, at a technolgoy summit in Lisbon in November 2024. | Horacio Villalobos/Corbis/Getty Images “When we speak about digital sovereignty, we don’t need to send them to the States or to Asia, we can do it in Europe,” said Bettel. “It’s not against someone, it’s just in favor of sovereign Europe.” The idea is also sparking the curiosity of countries that want to supercharge artificial intelligence development and data processing but don’t have the resources to do it in their own country. Earlier this month, the World Economic Forum launched a global framework for bilateral agreements to establish such digital embassies. The framework touches on things like access rights, data disclosures, jurisdiction, privacy laws, dispute resolution and the interoperability of infrastructure. As AI …
Indonesia has blocked access to Polymarket after officials concluded that the prediction market platform operates as online gambling under national law. The Communication and Digital Affairs Ministry announced the move on Friday and said authorities are stepping up enforcement against digital betting services across the country. Officials argued that platforms allowing users to speculate on uncertain future events fall within Indonesia’s gambling restrictions, even when those services are tied to crypto assets or blockchain technology. The government will not allow any form of online gambling in Indonesia,” Alexander Sabar, the ministry’s director general of digital space supervision, told reporters in Jakarta. Authorities said Polymarket allows users to place financial wagers on elections, economic developments, sports results, and other future outcomes. While prediction markets often present themselves as information or forecasting tools, Indonesian regulators said the practical function still resembles gambling activity. Sabar said Polymarket’s activities involve betting and speculation on uncertain events, putting the platform in violation of national regulations. Officials confirmed the platform’s website has already been blocked inside Indonesia as part of a …
The money had been withheld over Budapest’s breaches of EU law under Viktor Orbán, who had governed the country for 16 consecutive years until losing last month’s general election. The €10.4 billion is part of a post-pandemic recovery fund and only a fraction of the money Hungary is seeking to unfreeze. But with a looming deadline, securing full access to that tranche has become the new government’s top priority. Magyar’s incoming administration has until Aug. 31 to formally request the money, while the Commission in Brussels has a deadline of Dec. 31 to make the payments. The country’s foreign minister stressed that Hungary was already working on a set of so-called “super milestones” and reforms that were needed to get access to the money. “Those are reinstating rule of law criteria. And that’s ensuring that the money is spent transparently, absolutely free of corruption,” she said. “And it’s important to emphasize here that that was our electoral mandate. We were running on a platform. … So these super milestones are 100 percent coinciding with what …
