Because of AI Power to Analyze Our Lives, We Have to Stop Macron, if We Don't Want to Become China: Telegram CEO Durov Rebuts French Charges

Information means control. If Macron will make our lives completely transparent to AI, we will end up controlled like people of China. Complete dictatorship. Do we want this?

"PARIS -- Telegram founder and Chief Executive Pavel Durov denied that the messaging app refused to cooperate with European authorities to counter illegal content, and said it removes millions of posts every day -- his first public comments since French authorities arrested and charged him with complicity in spreading illicit content on the platform.

In a post on the app, Durov acknowledged that Telegram's increase in users -- now about 950 million -- has made it easier for criminals to abuse the platform. "But the claims in some media that Telegram is some sort of anarchic paradise are absolutely untrue. We take down millions of harmful posts and channels every day," he wrote.

In another post Friday, Durov said a fraction of Telegram users "involved in illicit activities create a bad image for the entire platform," and put other users at risk. He said that is why the company is "committed to turn moderation on Telegram from an area of criticism into one of praise."

The 39-year-old was charged this past week with several crimes, including complicity in the diffusion of child pornography, drug trafficking and the sale of unauthorized hacking software. French judges forbade him from leaving France; required him to post a 5 million euro bail, about $5.6 million; and ordered him to check in at a police station twice a week.

French prosecutors also charged him with refusing to cooperate with authorities, citing "an almost complete absence of response from Telegram to judicial demands."

Russian President Vladimir Putin, in his first comments on the Durov case, said the French charges appeared to be "selective in nature."

In his post, Durov said he frequently met with French officials at the embassy in Dubai, where Telegram is based, and set up a hotline at the company to address terrorism threats in France. He said authorities might be confused about where to send requests for cooperation and that the app should make that clearer. He suggested googling "Telegram EU address for law enforcement."

The 27-nation bloc has passed new laws, among the strictest in the world, that potentially hold online platforms responsible for illicit content and require them to have procedures in place to counter it.

"Sometimes we can't agree with a country's regulator on the right balance between privacy and security. In those cases, we are ready to leave that country," Durov wrote. "We've done it many times."" [1]

1. World News: Telegram CEO Durov Rebuts French Charges. Dalton, Matthew.  Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y.. 07 Sep 2024: A.9.

Dėl didelių energijos kainų, kurias sukėlė sankcijos Rusijai, ES ekonomika yra silpnesnė, nei tikėtasi --- Dėl lėtesnio augimo Europos Centriniam Bankui bus sunkiau užsitikrinti švelnų nusileidimą

 

 „Per tris mėnesius iki birželio euro zonos ekonomika augo lėčiau, nei buvo prognozuota anksčiau, todėl Europos Centriniam Bankui buvo sunkiau užsitikrinti švelnų nusileidimą, kai jis siekia sutramdyti infliaciją.

 

 Europos Sąjungos statistikos agentūra penktadienį pranešė, kad bendras 20 euro zonos narių bendrasis vidaus produktas antrąjį ketvirtį, palyginti su pirmuoju, išaugo vos 0,2%, o anksčiau buvo skaičiuojama, kad gamyba padidės 0,3%.

 

 Tai reiškė sulėtėjimą, palyginti su pirmuoju ketvirčiu, ir daug prastesnius rezultatus, nei tuo pačiu laikotarpiu užfiksavo JAV ir JK ekonomikos. Nors JAV ekonomika per metus augo 3%, euro zona išaugo tik 0,8%. Skaičiai taip pat parodė, kad investicijos per ketvirtį smarkiai sumažėjo, o vartotojų išlaidos taip pat sumažėjo, o tai rodo, kad aukštos palūkanų normos vėsino paklausą. Augimą daugiausia lėmė eksportas ir vyriausybės išlaidos.

 

 Neseniai paskelbtos apklausos ir duomenys rodo, kad trečiąjį ketvirtį tebesitęsia silpnumas ir didėja rizika, kad Vokietija, didžiausia valiutų zonos ekonomika, slenka į recesiją po susitraukimo per tris mėnesius iki birželio mėn.

 

 Eurostato sumažinimą iki augimo prognozės iš dalies lėmė lėtesnis augimas Prancūzijoje, antroje pagal dydį euro zonos narėje. Tačiau viena iš mažiausių šalių – Airija – buvo daugiausia atsakinga už pokyčius.

 

 Anksčiau turimi skaičiai rodė stiprų Airijos ekonomikos pakilimą antrąjį ketvirtį. Tačiau ketvirtadienį paskelbti nauji skaičiai rodo didelį susitraukimą.

 

 Pastaraisiais metais Airija buvo nuolatinis euro zonos ekonomikos duomenų patikslinimo ir netikėtumų šaltinis. Tai yra daugelio didelių JAV farmacijos kompanijų bazė ir buvo antra, greičiausiai auganti, ekonomika pasaulyje 2022 m., kai per Covid-19 pandemiją vaistų paklausa išaugo. Tačiau pernai augimas smarkiai sumažėjo, nes sumažėjo vaistų paklausa.

 

 Nors šiemet buvo tikimasi, kad augimas atsinaujins, antrojo ketvirčio susitraukimą lėmė vidaus silpnumas, taip pat nedidelis JAV verslo veiklos nuosmukis.

 

 Silpnėjantis ekonomikos augimas kelia iššūkį ECB, kuris nurodė, kad po birželio mėn. palūkanų mažinimo, pirmą kartą nuo 2019 m., jis elgsis atsargiai. Investuotojai tikisi, kad ECB vėl sumažins bazinę palūkanų normą, kai susitiks kitą savaitę, tačiau neaišku, kaip greitai bus sumažinta.

 

 Kai kurie politikos formuotojai nori judėti lėtai, teigdami, kad euro zonos ekonomikai nereikia skubios paramos ir kad infliaciją galima sutramdyti, nesumažėjus gamybos apimčiai ar užimtumui, o ne tai, kas vadinama sunkiu nusileidimu.

 

 „Nors rizika augimui išaugo, švelnus nusileidimas vis tiek atrodo labiau tikėtinas, nei recesija“, – neseniai savo kalboje sakė ECB vykdomosios valdybos narė Isabel Schnabel.

 

 Tačiau kiti politikos formuotojai mato didesnę riziką, kad euro zonos ekonomika susitrauks arba sustos, jei ECB sparčiau nesumažins skolinimosi išlaidų." [1]

1. EU Economy Is Weaker Than Anticipated --- Slower growth will make it more difficult for ECB to secure a soft landing. Hannon, Paul.  Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y.. 07 Sep 2024: A.9.

Thanks to High Energy Prices Caused by Sanctions on Russia EU Economy Is Weaker Than Anticipated --- Slower growth will make it more difficult for ECB to secure a soft landing

"The eurozone economy grew less rapidly in the three months through June than previously estimated, making it more difficult for the European Central Bank to secure a soft landing as it seeks to tame inflation.

The European Union's statistics agency Friday said the combined gross domestic product of the eurozone's 20 members grew by just 0.2% in the second quarter from the first, having previously estimated that output increased by 0.3%.

That marked a slowdown from the first quarter, and a much weaker performance than that recorded by the U.S. and U.K. economies during the same period. While the U.S. economy grew at an annualized rate of 3%, the eurozone expanded by just 0.8%. The figures also showed that investment fell sharply during the quarter, while consumer spending also declined, indications that high interest rates were cooling demand. Growth was mainly driven by exports and government spending.

Recently published surveys and data point to continued weakness in the third quarter, and a growing risk that Germany, the currency area's largest economy, is sliding into recession after contraction in the three months through June.

Eurostat's downgrade to its growth estimate was partly driven by weaker growth in France, the eurozone's second-largest member. But it was one of its smallest countries -- Ireland -- that was largely responsible for the change.

Previously available figures pointed to a strong pickup in the Irish economy during the second quarter. But new figures published Thursday showed a large contraction.

In recent years, Ireland has been a regular source of revisions and surprises in eurozone economic data. It is a base for many large U.S. pharmaceutical companies, and was the second-fastest growing economy in the world during 2022, when demand for drugs soared during the Covid-19 pandemic. But it contracted sharply last year as demand for drugs eased.

While growth was expected to resume this year, the second-quarter contraction was driven by domestic weakness, as well as a small decline in the activities of U.S. businesses.

Weakening economic growth poses a challenge for the ECB, which has indicated that it will move cautiously in following its June rate cut, the first since 2019. Investors expect policymakers to lower the key rate again when they meet next week, but it is unclear how quickly further cuts will follow.

Some policymakers want to move slowly, arguing that the eurozone economy isn't in urgent need of support, and that inflation can be tamed without a fall in output or employment, rather than what is known as a hard landing.

"While risks to growth have increased, a soft landing still looks more likely than a recession," said Isabel Schnabel, a member of the ECB's executive board, in a recent speech.

However, other policymakers see a greater risk that the eurozone economy will be pushed into contraction or stagnate if the ECB doesn't lower borrowing costs at a more rapid pace." [1]

1. EU Economy Is Weaker Than Anticipated --- Slower growth will make it more difficult for ECB to secure a soft landing. Hannon, Paul.  Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y.. 07 Sep 2024: A.9.