TECH BROS
By AFP
August 25, 2025
The latest meme, if you missed it, is AI action figures... generated by OpenAI's free ChatGPT service - © AFP/File PAU BARRENA
Elon Musk’s companies xAI and X filed a sweeping US antitrust lawsuit Monday against Apple and OpenAI, alleging the tech giants formed an illegal partnership to stifle competition in artificial intelligence and smartphone markets.
The 61-page complaint, filed in federal court in Texas, accuses Apple and OpenAI of entering an exclusive deal that makes OpenAI’s ChatGPT the only generative AI chatbot integrated into Apple’s iPhone operating system, while blocking rivals like xAI’s Grok.
“This is a tale of two monopolists joining forces to ensure their continued dominance in a world rapidly driven by the most powerful technology humanity has ever created: artificial intelligence,” the lawsuit states.
The plaintiffs claim Apple holds 65 percent of the US smartphone market, while OpenAI controls at least 80 percent of the generative AI chatbot market through ChatGPT.
Apple and OpenAI announced their partnership in June 2024, making ChatGPT the exclusive AI assistant accessible through Apple’s Siri voice assistant and other iPhone features.
The xAI lawsuit comes as Elon Musk publicly feuds with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman – Copyright AFP/File LISA O’CONNOR, JACK GUEZ
The lawsuit alleges this arrangement gives ChatGPT exclusive access to “billions of user prompts” from hundreds of millions of iPhone users.
The complaint also accuses Apple of manipulating App Store rankings to favor ChatGPT while delaying approval of updates to the Grok app.
Musk’s companies are seeking billions in damages and a permanent injunction to stop the alleged anticompetitive practices. They have demanded a jury trial.
“This latest filing is consistent with Mr Musk’s ongoing pattern of harassment,” OpenAI said in a statement to AFP.
Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The lawsuit follows threats Musk made earlier this month that triggered a fiery exchange with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman.
Altman called Musk’s accusation of ranking manipulation “remarkable,” charging that Musk himself “manipulates X to benefit himself and his own companies and harm his competitors and people he doesn’t like.”
Musk called Altman a “liar” in the heated exchange.
Both men were original founders of OpenAI before Musk’s departure in 2018 and now have a highly conflictual relationship.
Musk founded xAI in 2023 to compete with OpenAI and other major AI players that have poured billions of dollars into AI since the blockbuster launch of the first version of OpenAI’s ChatGPT in late 2022.
Telegram’s Durov blasts French probe one year after arrest
By AFP
August 25, 2025
The 40-year-old was detained in Paris in 2024
By AFP
August 25, 2025
The 40-year-old was detained in Paris in 2024
- Copyright GETTY IMAGES/AFP Andrew Harnik
Telegram founder Pavel Durov has criticised France’s investigation into illegal content on his messaging app, saying authorities were “struggling” to find evidence of wrongdoing a year after his high-profile arrest.
“One year ago, the French police detained me for four days because some people I’d never heard of used Telegram to coordinate crimes,” Durov wrote on his Telegram channel Sunday evening.
“A year later, the ‘criminal investigation’ against me is still struggling to find anything that I or Telegram did wrong,” he said.
The Russian-born entrepreneur, 40, was sensationally detained in Paris in 2024 and is under formal investigation by French authorities over the popular platform’s alleged complicity in criminal activity.
Durov, who holds French and Russian passports, has been accused of complicity in running an online platform that allowed illicit transactions, images of child sex abuse and other illegal content.
He has denied the allegations and condemned his arrest as doing “massive damage to France’s image as a free country”.
“Arresting a CEO of a major platform over the actions of its users was not only unprecedented — it was legally and logically absurd,” Durov wrote, pledging to “keep fighting”.
The tech founder has accused French authorities of failing to follow proper legal procedures when submitting content moderation inquiries.
“Our moderation practices align with industry standards, and Telegram has always responded to every legally binding request from France,” Durov said.
During initial questioning in December 2024, the tech entrepreneur acknowledged a growing criminal presence on the platform, and pledged to strengthen content oversight.
Durov, who was initially banned from leaving France, had his judicial control relaxed in July, allowing him to reside in the United Arab Emirates, where Telegram is based, for a maximum of two weeks at a time.
“I still have to return to France every 14 days, with no appeal date in sight,” he said.
Telegram founder Pavel Durov has criticised France’s investigation into illegal content on his messaging app, saying authorities were “struggling” to find evidence of wrongdoing a year after his high-profile arrest.
“One year ago, the French police detained me for four days because some people I’d never heard of used Telegram to coordinate crimes,” Durov wrote on his Telegram channel Sunday evening.
“A year later, the ‘criminal investigation’ against me is still struggling to find anything that I or Telegram did wrong,” he said.
The Russian-born entrepreneur, 40, was sensationally detained in Paris in 2024 and is under formal investigation by French authorities over the popular platform’s alleged complicity in criminal activity.
Durov, who holds French and Russian passports, has been accused of complicity in running an online platform that allowed illicit transactions, images of child sex abuse and other illegal content.
He has denied the allegations and condemned his arrest as doing “massive damage to France’s image as a free country”.
“Arresting a CEO of a major platform over the actions of its users was not only unprecedented — it was legally and logically absurd,” Durov wrote, pledging to “keep fighting”.
The tech founder has accused French authorities of failing to follow proper legal procedures when submitting content moderation inquiries.
“Our moderation practices align with industry standards, and Telegram has always responded to every legally binding request from France,” Durov said.
During initial questioning in December 2024, the tech entrepreneur acknowledged a growing criminal presence on the platform, and pledged to strengthen content oversight.
Durov, who was initially banned from leaving France, had his judicial control relaxed in July, allowing him to reside in the United Arab Emirates, where Telegram is based, for a maximum of two weeks at a time.
“I still have to return to France every 14 days, with no appeal date in sight,” he said.
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