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Karp in a Paella: Palantir Banned in Spain

Another dinobaby post. No AI unless it is an image. This dinobaby is not Grandma Moses, just Grandpa Arnold.

What does one do with a snapping carp? Put it in a basket. Let it run out of fish frenzy and then, “Order up.” A tasty paella de mariscos, right?

Okay, MidJourney. Good enough I suppose.

I thought about carp when I read “Spain Orders Blacklist of US Tech Giant Palantir From Public and Private Companies.” The write up in the Clash Report has a snappy subtitle too:

The Spanish government has blacklisted U.S. data analytics giant Palantir Technologies from public and private state-controlled companies due to growing concerns over the potential misuse of classified national security information.

Palantir and its seeing stones may have forgotten that Francisco Franco evidenced a keen level of paranoia. Some government officials may be tinged with some of that leader’s concerns.

The write up states:

the [Spanish] prime minister’s office communicated the ban to listed companies to prevent any contracts that could jeopardize Spanish national sovereignty. The political intervention has already disrupted advanced procurement pipelines, including a near-finalized project with Navantia and a negotiated collaboration agreement with the Guardia Civil that was vetoed by Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska. The restrictions mirror recent regulatory and political pushback against Palantir elsewhere in Europe.

What makes this announcement semi-interesting is tucked toward the end of the write up; to wit:

The firm holds a €16.5 million contract signed in 2023 with the Armed Forces Intelligence Center (CIFAS), which is scheduled to expire this upcoming November. Military leadership, including the Chiefs of Staff of the Army and Navy, has lobbied Defense Minister Margarita Robles to renew the contract, citing the platform’s operational superiority.

In Spain, the military is a reasonably influential entity. The question becomes, “Will the Spanish military get to keep their next generation, super duper, forward deployed engineering loving intelware system?”

Several observations:

• In June 2026, France dumped Palantir either shortly before he left a “summit” or as the wheels of Air Force One left the tarmac. The timing, based on my experience working in France, cannot be dismissed with a puff of breath and the phrase “C’était un pur hasard.”
• Spain’s government seems to be divided on an important issue.
• Palantir’s seeing stone must not have been working because it entered into a deal that should have been easy to tag with the key word “problematic.” Hey, I thought the seeing stone thing was real, not a puff pastry cooked by one of those French chefs in Madrid.

For now, the carp is in the basket. What will the fish’s fate be? I don’t have a seeing stone, but a fish kept too long in the canasta might expire and leave a telltale stench behind.

Stephen E Arnold, July 10, 2026

Ka-Ching and Tally Ho: The EU Charges the Jousts with Google … Again

Another dinobaby post. No AI unless it is an image. This dinobaby is not Grandma Moses, just Grandpa Arnold.

In preparation for one of my lectures, I have been trying to find a suitable metaphor for the position Google’s competitors find themselves. The set up looks grim. Google has eyeballs (billions of them). Google has money (billions upon billions of dollars). Google has infrastructure. Google has technology. Okay, you get the idea. Oh, Google appears to operate in what some folks would call monopolistic and predatory ways. Personally I love the Google. I admit it. I believe I was the first person to explain that the company is Googzilla. I think the EU has figured that out. It took some time, however.

Thanks, Midjourney. Quite disappointing actually.

I read “EU Upholds Google Android Fine: Why the Ruling Matters beyond Europe.” I think it is an optimistic write up. The idea is that the 4.1 billion euro fine and the alleged validation of the process Google uses to maintain its grip on certain businesses and market sectors.  I appreciate the effort to keep Google within certain boundaries. However, I am not sure that governments can do the trick by issuing fines and setting precedents. The Google just keeps Googling along. Remember the outfit has been ramping up without meaningful constraints for about 30 years. Like governments, Google has its processes. They are machined and lubricated with steady flows of cash.

I circled this passage from the Business Standard article:

The judgment strengthens Europe’s push to hold Big Tech accountable and is likely to serve as an important reference point for competition regulators worldwide, including in India. As governments take a closer look at the growing influence of digital platforms, the decision could shape future rules governing mobile operating systems, app stores, digital marketplaces and even AI-powered services.

I thought this description of the basics of the Google approach was good:

The European Union’s courts accepted that Android is open source but said Google’s commercial agreements went beyond simply offering free software. he judges agreed with regulators that Google’s contracts effectively ensured that most Android phones came with Google Search and Chrome as default options. Since many consumers rarely change default settings, these agreements helped Google preserve its already dominant position in internet search. The court also said restricting manufacturers from selling devices based on modified Android versions reduced innovation by limiting competing operating systems. In other words, the issue was not Android itself but the business conditions attached to using Google’s ecosystem.

I wish to offer several dinobaby observations:

Italy and Probably the EU Will Become Increasingly Annoying to US BAIT Outfits

Another dinobaby post. No AI unless it is an image. This dinobaby is not Grandma Moses, just Grandpa Arnold.

BAIT, in my dinobaby lingo, is a shorthand way to refer the big AI tech outfits in the United States. With AI and its progenitors becoming part of the US government’s DNA/RNA chains, criticism of BAIT companies is a proxy for the the good old USA in my opinion. To support my hypothesis, I want to direct your attention to “PS13129 – The Italian Competition Authority Launches Investigation into the “Microsoft 365” Subscription Price Increase.” Like the French, the Italian bureaucratic processes can mystify many American companies accustomed to a different socio-political environment. What this means to me is, “Get caught in the rock crusher of Italian bureaucracy from an important outfit like the Italian Competition Authority and interesting consequences can ensue. You have seen those TikTok-type videos showing one domino knocking over dozens or hundreds of other dominoes. A lot of work is needed to set up those dominoes like sales of Microsoft products and services. One tip and the dominoes topple making an interest visual experience and a weird sound like a knock in a $500,000 Ferrari 12 Cilindri: Knack, knack, knack.

Thanks, MidJourney. Just barely good enough.

The write up says:

The Italian Competition Authority has launched an investigation into Microsoft Ireland Operations Ltd. and Microsoft S.r.l. over an unfair commercial practice relating to the information provided to consumers about the increase in the subscription price for the “Microsoft 365” service. This information appears to have been provided in a fragmented manner, without making it sufficiently clear that the subscription service had been integrated with the “Copilot” and “Designer” artificial intelligence services. Moreover, it seems that consumers were placed, by default, on a new subscription plan at a higher price, unless they exercised their right of withdrawal.

What’s the big deal? Answer, and I quote,

In the Authority’s view, this conduct may be contrary to consumer rules, since Microsoft appears to have failed to provide consumers with sufficient information to assess the changes made to the service offered and, as a consequence, make an informed decision as to whether or not to renew their subscription. The way in which the information was communicated may also constitute an aggressive practice, as it appears to have unduly restricted consumers’ freedom of choice.

You say, “I don’t hear any engine knock.” My reaction is, “Just wait.” I bet the EU regulators will pick up some audio signals. I am not sure some in the US will pick up this problematic and potentially very expensive and time consuming issue when repairs are needed. Hurry up and some Italian outfits are polar opposites.

Stephen E Arnold, June 30, 2026

Telegram Notes: Manny Stotz Channels Bruce Lee and Survives… Again

Another Telegram Notes post. Yes, that’s a goat. Yes, that’s what Pavel Durov calls himself: The greatest of all time. Don’t forget it. The French judiciary hasn’t.

TON Strategy Company received another Nasdaq “reprimand.” The firm moves fast and ignores some Nasdaq rules. Manny Stotz, the executive chairman of TON Strategy, has a number of balls to juggle. Nasdaq rules seems not to be one of the balls. You can learn what’s happened and why delisting may be a concern. The write up uses Bruce Lee’s arrow trick as a metaphor for Mr. Stotz’s actions. Why is Mr. Stotz channeling Bruce Lee. You can get some additional information in “Manny Channels Bruce Lee: Amazing Reflexes.”

Stephen E Arnold, June 25, 2026

Tech Bros Rat on Other Tech Bros and Set National Policy. Absolutely

Another dinobaby post. No AI unless it is an image. This dinobaby is not Grandma Moses, just Grandpa Arnold.

I have seen the name “David Sachs” in the context of affluent Silicon Valley luminaries. He has or is working in an important job in the US government. I scanned a “tweet” or is it a “musk” on X.com. The lingo in the message is not dinobaby speak, so I have to interpret it the best I can.

The main idea is that an outfit named Anthropic, the marketing juggernaut that can make paradoxes as familiar as the smell of eggs on the grill in the Palo Alto Creamery. Anthropic is into “safe” and it releases Mythos to make software unsafe and then releases a public version that is sort of safe. The folks who care about unsafe are the accelerationists and the bad actors. Most people don’t care, understand, or want to know. But BAITs (big AI tech firms) and BAIT surfers care and care a lot.

Thanks, MidJourney. Good enough.

This Anthropic stuff is disrupting the old stand by BAIT outfits.

What’s the fix? I think a hint of how the AI world works is revealed in the cited tweet or musk. I quote the post:

Fable is Mythos with guardrails. But if those guardrails fail, then you’ve exposed Mythos and its advanced cyber capabilities to people who shouldn’t have them. (Keep in mind that Anthropic itself widely promoted the idea that Mythos was a cyberweapon and needed to be regulated as such. They asked for government regulation of Mythos and championed the guardrails on Fable. If there is a vulnerability — big or small — it is Anthropic’s responsibility to patch.)

I think this means that Anthropic is not behaving like a responsible BAIT. Therefore, Anthropic shape or face the wrath of the other BAITers.

The tweet or musk continues:

A highly credible trusted partner of both Anthropic and the USG who was testing Fable came forward with a jailbreak of those guardrails. The Admin asked Dario to fix the jailbreak or de-deploy the model. Dario refused.

One of my team told me that the “trusted partner” was Amazon, an outfit I once described as the Bezos bulldozer. (Hey, sorry about those mom and pop businesses. Vrrooom vrrooom.) I know there are not too many BAIT outfits operating in the US so I am probably incorrect. Plug in your own estimable outfit.

The consequence of the “alert” was, and I quote:

In reaction, the Admin issued the export control. The Admin did this reluctantly. It’s been very surprised that Anthropic hasn’t wanted to cooperate with a reasonable safety request (ie fixing the jailbreak issue). Anthropic’s reaction is very much at odds with their branding and ethos as a safe AI research community.

“Admin” means, I think, the US Federal government. I think Anthropic was in hot water over some confusion about the normal behavior of senior government professionals. Many of these people assume that “we pay, vendors obey.” Anthropic did not get the message about this standard operating procedure.

Several observations manifested themselves on my writing pad as I was thinking about this tweet or musk. As a dinobaby, I shall exercise my prerogative and insert them in this blog;

1. US government policy can result when a single BAIT tattles on another BAIT. Both BAITs have business entanglements. (See, for instance, “Anthropic and Amazon Expand Collaboration for Up to 5 Gigawatts of New Compute.”) I wonder what the phrase “trusted partner” means to these outfits?
2. Anthropic seems to be like the fur on a Rhodesian ridgeback. The BAIT fur is tidy, fluid, and goes with the grain. The fur on the Anthropic dog goes in a different direction. The nail that sticks up gets pounded down. Does fur work that way in BAIT Land?
3. Some of the Mythos functionality can be replicated in other BAIT systems. One of my team suggested that Qwen has some utility in juicing the activities of bad actors. I think this means that a Kentucky Derby winner’s barn has burned as the valuable steed has headed off to another farm on the Bourbon Trail.

Net net:  If the tweet or the musk are accurate, policy is indeed set by what some individuals call :

• Squealing
• Dry snitching
• Grassing
• Tattling
• Ratting
• Spilling tea (organic green, of course).

Stephen E Arnold, June 25, 2026

Palantir Gets a Burned Baguette de Tradition. C’est Domage, En Effet

Another dinobaby post. No AI unless it is an image. This dinobaby is not Grandma Moses, just Grandpa Arnold.

Bonjour, that’s the magic word in a boulangerie. Ignore the unwritten rules of doing the France thing, and you may find yourself puzzled why you get a burned baguette. Yep, too bad. That’s the way it is in Paris where I worked for a while.

I read “French Spies Drop AI Giant Palantir over US Overreliance Fears.” The subtitle to the France24 story states:

France’s domestic intelligence agency will stop working with American AI giant Palantir, Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu said Tuesday, as European nations increasingly doubt the dependability of the United States.

Several points in the headline and subtitle caught my attention. First, the timing of the announcement coincided with the G7 meeting. Few of the government officials could miss the message of the termination or what I call the “burned baguette.” Second, Palantir is described as an AI company. I thought that Palantir was suggesting that it was not an AI company; it was more of an integrator and consulting outfit. Oh, well. AI can get lost in translation to IA. In fact, the news story says, “But Palantir insists it simply provides powerful data processing services that can help surface nuggets of useful information in the flood available to government agencies and big companies.”

Thanks, MidJourney. Quite a struggle to get a bakery scene with a burned baguette. Wow.

The news report continues:

The decision by the Direction Generale de la Securite Interieure (DGSI) to end its contract with Palantir follows Washington’s move last week to cut off access to AI firm Anthropic’s powerful Fable model to non-American users. France should “not depend on the good will of certain partners, who are capable of turning off the access tap” for artificial intelligence, Lecornu said.

The inquiries from France24 were ignored by Palantir as I write this at 9 16 am US Eastern time on June 16, 2026. My hunch is that Palantir will emit a statement, possibly on the twitter musk service. In the last few days, X.com has contained important essays and policy signals from Satya Nadella (Microsoft) and David Sachs (Craft Ventures and the US government). Therefore, Alex Karp may take to the X.com service to reply to France24. If this were to happen, I would find it mildly interesting that X.com is a subject of criminal scrutiny by the French judiciary. This is the same outfit pressuring Pavel Durov to tweak his Telegram service which some organizations find useful in their financial activities.

Several questions:

1. Are the Five Eyes squinting at one another suspiciously?
2. Europe represents an important economic engine. For some US commercial enterprises, access to those prospects and customers is probably important. Buying local could have some economic downside for certain US firms.
3. In addition to business permits, are there other bureaucratic brakes that can be applied to US firms?

Net net: If more burned baguettes turn up in one’s filet à provisions, that’s a fairly clear signal in my experience.

Stephen E Arnold, June 24, 2026

New Social Media Bans For Younger Teens

Here we go again with more bans on social media for the younger sect. Deadline tells the story in. “UK Brings In Full Social Media Ban For Under-16s.”? The United Kingdom will ban TikTok, YouTube, Facebook, and X. This decision follows the Australian government’s ban on social media for kids in 2025. This is part of Keir Starmer’s administration and they responded to the new legislation with:

“ ‘Children will be given back their childhoods,’ the government said this morning as it unveiled more detail and stated an aim to ‘capture user-to-user platforms, whose purpose is to enable social interaction and?which allow users to post material, alongside algorithms.’”

Nothing is better than speedy action when it comes to social media. It’s been about 20 years and now that evidence of numerous reading, writing, and arithmetic type knowledge gaps, bans are coming. Norway just put down its snowshoe clad foot too.

But the UK is going further than Australia and is claiming “world leading action” related to banning social media.? ?For example, romantic-type chatbots will be required to enforce a minimum age of eighteen for usage. The government also wants to break the doom scrolling addiction among younger social media users. Personally I am not sure that the kids will be supportive of that effort.

Ofcom, a UK organizations that has the power to enforce online safety regulations, will conduct a study on which age is the most effective way to verify a person is over sixteen. A government survey also found that 90% of adults and large portion of kids are favor of the ban.

This might sour relations with the US:

“The Australian social media ban has been controversial, with American tech giants unsurprisingly reacting with alarm. As these giants get closer and closer to Donald Trump in the States, Starmer, who has consistently attempted to keep relations with the U.S. on a solid footing, may find himself falling foul of the U.S. President, although the POTUS is at present distracted with Iran.”

It’s probably going to be as effective as the media ban in Australia. In other words, they’re twenty years too late. Good luck Starmer, you’re already doing a bang up job protecting kids, especially girls. Gee, are females negatively affected by social media?

Whitney Grace, June 23, 2026

South Korea: Not Just Smart Hyundai Venues. It Is Also AI Censoring and Pre-Censoring

Another dinobaby post. No AI unless it is an image. This dinobaby is not Grandma Moses, just Grandpa Arnold.

I drive a super sexy blue Hyundai Venue. When I drive by an old age horn, the babes wave at me from their walkers and wheelchairs. I know I am cool. My Venue is smart. It beeps when I am in a parking space. It beeps and jerks the wheel when I am navigating roads under construction. Once in a while, the car beeps, flashes a red light, and automatically applies the brakes when I am creeping along in a traffic jam. Yep, South Korea has that smart software nailed.

Pre-censorship and real-time censorship appear to deliver some surprises to a small online publishing firm in South Korea. But AI is good enough, right MidJourney?

The country is now pioneering in a field translated for me by a “free” online translation service: Pre-censoring. I read about this nifty smart software sitting in my Venue as the beeps warned me of some impending disaster. The article is titled in this crystal clear way: “Even If You Upload an Image, Is It Pre-Censored? The Background of the Confrontation of Pros and Cons.” According to the free translation service the write contains this statement, and I quote:

The policy of pre-censoring images posted to the domestic Internet community with artificial intelligence (AI) has also become visible. Public opinion is divided between the need for a social safety net and the violation of freedom of expression.
The amendment to the Telecommunications Business Act, called the Prevention of N-Bang Act, came into effect in 2021. The structure monitors and responds in advance to content uploaded to SNS, messengers, and communities using AI. Until now, it had been limited to video files, but confusion soon grew as it became known that image files were also included in management.

I like the “N-Bang” bound phrase. Usually rules and regulations are less… suggestive. Confused. I poked around and located this article: “South Korean Online Communities Will Need to Scan Every Images with AI Censorship Tools.” The main idea seems to me, if the translation is sort of correct, is:

Due to recent regulation changes… the South Korean government is requiring internet communities and forum owners to scan every user uploaded images and videos on their website, by AI. The hardware to run these AI models are also not provided by government, website owners have to buy datacenter grade Nvidia GPUs by themselves, putting financial pressure to small businesses and forums. Websites will need to implement these hardware and software features, starting immediately from July 1st, [2026]

Several observations seem warranted:

1. Will the smart software perform in a manner similar to that in my Hyundai Venue: False beeps, erroneous beeps, and beeps from out of nowhere? (Hey, I’m parked with the motor running, and my Venue just beeped. Because the beeps are the same frequency, I am not sure what the problem is. I will lock my doors.
2. AI systems appear to have a few issues; for example, the systems hallucinate. Has South Korea figured out how to make smart software not output erroneous information; for example, an image posted on social media of a father splashing in a pool with his two young children? I am confident that some hallucinations will occur; for example, child cruelty, attempted murder by drowning, an image destined for a CSAM site on a Dark Web service, etc. But I assume South Korea’s AI does not have this problem.
3. The pre-processing and the real-time processing computational loads are zero problemo for those in the online delivery chain. We checked a single image online using five “smart” image identification services. It took about 15 minutes to get results in our “image horserace.” I assume that South Korea has engineered a workflow that does add time and cost to an online service that includes images.

Net net: I think the idea of pre- and real-time image filtering is interesting. Zipping through still images, video files, and any other included file type is no problem. Hey, now I am backing out of  my parking space. My Hyundai Venue is beeping with false positives. The dog park is empty now, but the Venue is smart. It is protecting me from … something.

Stephen E Arnold, June 8, 2026

How to Win Friends and Influence People: Warn Them. Then …. Well, What?

Another dinobaby post. No AI unless it is an image. This dinobaby is not Grandma Moses, just Grandpa Arnold.

BAIT (big AI tech) companies take a dim view of any government that does not get with the techno-libertarian power program. I wonder is the information in “Apple Warns EU Against Forcing Google to Open Android to AI Rivals” might be poorly received in Western Europe.

Two BAIT leadership people take comments after their presentation about smart software, mobile devices, and user privacy. Thanks, Midjourney. Good enough.

The 9 to 5 Mac story asserts by quoting Reuters (the trust outfit):

“The DMs (draft measures) raise urgent and serious concerns. ?If ?confirmed, they would create profound risks for user privacy, security, and safety as well as device integrity and performance,” Apple said in its submission. “Those risks are especially acute in the context of rapidly evolving ?AI systems whose ?capabilities, behaviors, ?and threat vectors remain unpredictable as we are now seeing time and again,” it said.

I like the “profound risks,” not just plain vanilla risks. I like the reference to “privacy, security, and safety.” The “device integrity” comment is interesting. I wonder if Apple’s wizards have looked into the capabilities of companies providing specialized services that enable access to mobile devices.

The write up points out:

Apple also reportedly argued that the European Commission is trying to redesign Android based on “less than three months of work,” replacing decisions made by Google’s own engineers over years of developing the operating system.

I am not interested in the back-and-forth that’s been going on between some BAIT outfits and the EU. My perspective is that the attitude of the BAIT companies is that governments like the EU are lost in space, indifferent to the needs of the commercial enterprises that perceive themselves as more important than nation states, and essentially toothless. Sure, the EU fines BAIT outfits, but how much cash changes hands. What happens is that flocks of legal eagles descend, and bureaucracy increases friction. The legal machine coughs and groans like Jack Benny’s recalcitrant Maxwell automobile.

What is the impact of the BAIT push back? Will the EU recognize their shortcomings? Will the elected officials don smart glasses to reveal what their perceptual blind spots distort? Will the EU apologize to the BAIT companies and accept guidance from bright BAIT workers?

My view is:

1. Push back from the EU itself will increase. Elon Musk is unlikely to get a warm reception from the J3 unit of the French judiciary. Other executives may find themselves as fellow travelers with Mr. Musk
2. European commercial and non-governmental organizations will continue to seek non-US options for certain technologies. The shift is modest in my opinion but going forward the “find an option” thinking will ramp up. The more BAIT outfits push; greater momentum to shift becomes evident
3. Individual entrepreneurs are likely to look for ways to avoid stumbling into the BAIT embrace and control approach to technology.

I acknowledge that I may be wrong. I am reasonably confident that BAIT companies supercharged with the Silicon Valley dream of owning a market are unlikely to change. But governments, even ones perceived as weak or just plain wacky, can shut down online services. High profile executives can be put in prison or sit in green and gray rooms waiting to find out when a trial will take place.

Net net: The fact that Apple supports Google communicates a message to me. I think that there will be some in the European Union who see this backpatting is a less than “How far that little candle throws his beams! So shines a good deed in a naughty world.”

Stephen E Arnold, May 15, 2026

The French Judiciary Says, “Grok This, Elon”

Another dinobaby post. No AI unless it is an image. This dinobaby is not Grandma Moses, just Grandpa Arnold.

Some countries want to make life difficult for American tech bros. Russia is pestering Telegram’s users, contractors, vendors, and plyushka serving cafés. France has Pavel Durov on a leash, and now wants to speak with the world’s richest man and tireless proponent of living on Mars, the moon, wherever.

Thanks, MidJourney. Your interface tweaks are indeed baffling. But, as always, good enough.

“French Prosecutors Escalate Probe of Elon Musk and X to Criminal Investigation” makes clear that Elon may want to reconsider a quick trip to Lyon to dine at L’Auberge du Pont de Collonges. (It’s not a meal; it’s a production by the way.) The write up states:

French cybercrime authorities have escalated an investigation of Elon Musk and his social network X to a criminal probe, the Paris prosecutor’s office said Thursday. Musk and former X CEO Linda Yaccarino were issued summons by French authorities for April 20. Both of them declined to appear and answer questions, according to the prosecutor’s office. In February, Musk called the probe a “political attack,” after French authorities raided the Paris office of X.

If anyone needs a social media professional in Paris, my hunch is that the French nationals working for Elon may be open to employment options. Why? France is not the US of A as many American visitors discover when deplaning and heading for a dream vacation in Arles.

The French authorities can identify employees of a company owned by Elon and pick from these administrative tools to further their investigation. Here is a selected list of judiciary buttons and levers:

• Apply pressure through mutual legal assistance. An email usually does the job. The news story points out: “Other international jurisdictions are also investigating X and Grok, as is the California attorney general’s office.” The US government is not going to cooperate, but that left coast golden bear state is in the hunt.
• Summon employees to be questioned in a cheerful judiciary facility and, if warranted, do the garde à vue for a period of time
• Search and search again: Offices, employee homes, digital records, email, financial records. Then the judiciary can repeat the searches to ensure thoroughness.

The cited news story reports:

The probe, requested by French Member of Parliament Éric Bothorel in early 2025, has focused on complaints of algorithmic manipulation by X to influence and interfere in French politics, and allegations that Musk and X knowingly allowed users of the AI chatbot Grok to create and spread Holocaust denials and nonconsensual sexually explicit deepfake images on X.

Elon perceives the investigation as political. He’s right. Politics is France. Bureaucracy is France. Outrage over untoward images is France. But the French judiciary just chugs along because it has the reputation of taking direct action: The phone thing, the arrest and possible ruination of Telegram, and now Elon. I suppose one could ask Grok how long can a criminal proceeding endure in France? My recollection is that a Maurice Papon’s legal hassle lasted from 1981 (the date of my first visit to France) to 1998 (the date of my first visit to Dassault Exalead). I remember this because the newspapers ran the Papon story’s kick off and touchdown coincident with my visits. That’s why I recalled this particular judiciary gauntlet.

One can say, “It’s political.” I would point out that the judiciary’s clock is not powered by French national or regional elections. I think this is a characteristic worth noting. Several other observations are warranted:

1. As Pavel Durov and the phone folks have discovered, other jurisdictions follow along behind the French judiciary in certain matters. International crime and allegations of CSAM are of interest to Europol, EU member states, and, as Durov has learned, outliers like Russia. Thus, containment is now difficult for the Elon matter.
2. The EU is likely to initiate its own actions. Like it or not, allegations of certain types of illicit imagery are sure fire vote getters. Therefore, the Elon matter is likely to become more political in more jurisdictions over time
3. Sympathy for certain BAIT (big AI tech) companies is waning. Anti-American sentiment is evident in a number of European countries. Even in Montpellier, the attitude is, “Bring money and then leave” for some American people and businesses.

Net net: One can use the “tech bros are the new aristocracy” approach in the US. I am not sure the attitude is congruent with the French judiciary’s expectation of appropriate responses to formal orders. (The J3 crowd, based on my information, is not amused by some Silicon Valley methods.)

Stephen E Arnold, May 11, 2026

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  Stephen E. Arnold monitors search, content processing, text mining and related topics from his high-tech nerve center in rural Kentucky. He tries to winnow the goose feathers from the giblets. He works with colleagues worldwide to make this Web log useful to those who want to go "beyond search". Contact him at sa [at] arnoldit.com. His Web site with additional information about search is arnoldit.com.

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