French J3 cybercrime unit launches probe into X’s algorithm as EU scrutiny intensifies. The French Public Prosecutor’s Office has opened an investigation into X over the alleged use of its algorithm for foreign interference. According to a statement from Magistrate Laure Beccuau on Friday, prosecutors have launched a probe into whether X violated French law by manipulating its algorithms to extract user data fraudulently. The investigation was launched after two reports were submitted to the Paris Public Prosecutor’s Office’s cybercrime division on Jan. 12 — one by MP Éric Bothorel, a member of French President Emmanuel Macron’s Ensemble Pour La Republique party, and another by a senior government official whose identity was not disclosed. Read more
House Republicans announced a "crypto week" to consider three digital asset bills starting on Monday, but Democratic leaders are pushing back. The political division in the US Congress over digital assets seems to be deepening as top Democrats in the House of Representatives have announced their agenda following Republicans’ push to address three crypto-related bills starting on Monday. In a Friday notice, House Financial Services Committee ranking member Maxine Waters and the digital assets subcommittee ranking member Stephen Lynch said they would lead Democrats in opposition to Republican efforts to pass what they called “dangerous” legislation. Republican leaders said earlier this month that they would address bills on payment stablecoins, crypto market structure and central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) starting Monday. Read more