France has launched an investigation into former Culture Minister Jack Lang over alleged links to Jeffrey Epstein, while Italy is dealing with railway sabotage as the Winter Olympics begin, and Uber has been ordered to pay $8.5 million in a rape case. Additionally, Google employees are demanding the company cut ties with immigration enforcement, and the EU has ordered TikTok to change its "addictive design" or face fines.
Financial crime prosecutors in France opened a preliminary inquiry into Jack Lang, a prominent figure in French socialist governments between the 1980s and 2000s, according to BBC World. The investigation concerns suspected "laundering of tax fraud proceeds" and follows the release of the Epstein files by the US Department of Justice, which documented links between the Lang family and the late American sex offender. Lang, now 86, has denied any wrongdoing, describing the allegations as "baseless" and stating the investigation "will bring much light on to the accusations that are questioning my probity," as reported by BBC World.
In Italy, authorities reported "serious sabotage" on the railway network as thousands gathered for the start of the Winter Olympic Games, according to BBC World. Three separate incidents involving damage to railway lines were reported, including a fire between Bologna and Venice that caused delays of up to two-and-a-half hours. Police also found severed cables and an explosive device nearby. The Ministry of Transport called the incidents an act of "serious sabotage," mirroring vandalism during the Paris Olympics in 2024, BBC World reported.
Uber was ordered to pay $8.5 million to a woman who claimed she was raped by a driver, according to BBC Technology. The ruling, made in a US court in Arizona, could influence thousands of other cases against the company. The jury found Uber responsible for the driver's behavior, although the company intends to appeal the verdict. The plaintiff, Jaylynn Dean, said she was sexually assaulted in the car, BBC Technology reported.
Google executives are facing pressure from nearly 900 full-time employees over the company's ties to US immigration enforcement, BBC Technology reported. The employees, in an open letter, demanded more transparency regarding how Google's technology is used by the government. Google has contracts to provide federal agencies with cloud services. A Google employee of seven years found it "mind-boggling" that the company was maintaining its ties with immigration enforcement, according to BBC Technology.
The EU has ordered TikTok to change its "addictive design" or face heavy fines, BBC Technology reported. The European Commission found the video-sharing platform had breached its online safety rules, including failing to adequately assess how features like autoplay could harm users, including children. A TikTok spokesperson told the BBC the findings presented a "categorically false and entirely meritless depiction of our platform" and that the company planned to challenge them, according to BBC Technology.
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