French law enforcement conducted a raid on the Paris offices of Elon Musk's social media platform X on Tuesday, significantly escalating a year-long criminal investigation into the company's practices. The Paris prosecutor's office confirmed the raid is part of an expanding cybercrime probe that now encompasses allegations ranging from algorithm abuse and data extraction to illegal content distribution via the platform's AI chatbot, Grok.
Prosecutors have summoned Elon Musk and former X CEO Linda Yaccarino to appear for questioning on April 20, 2026, treating them as individuals effectively running the platform. Additional X employees have also been called to testify as witnesses, though the exact number and timing of these hearings remain unspecified.
The investigation, originally triggered by a complaint from a French lawmaker concerned about biased algorithms distorting automated data systems, has broadened substantially. New allegations include that X may have been complicit in hosting and spreading child sexual abuse material and posts denying crimes against humanity. The probe also examines potential violations of image rights through the circulation of sexually explicit deepfakes generated by Grok, X's integrated AI chatbot.
Prosecutor Laure Beccuau stated the investigation aims for "a constructive approach, with the ultimate goal of ensuring that X complies with French law." The case is being handled by specialist cybercrime units from the prosecutor's office and French police, with cooperation from Europol.
In a significant symbolic move, the Paris prosecutor's office announced it will cease using X for official communications, shifting instead to LinkedIn (owned by Microsoft) and Instagram (owned by Meta). This reflects growing institutional reassessment of platform engagement amid governance concerns.
The French action adds to mounting regulatory pressure on X across Europe. The European Commission launched a separate formal investigation on January 27, 2026, into whether X properly handled risks associated with Grok's integration. This follows a December 2025 fine of 120 million euros (approximately $140 million) imposed by the EU for violating the Digital Services Act (DSA)—the first such non-compliance decision under the act. Violations included deceptive design practices related to blue checkmarks and failures in advertising database transparency.
X and Elon Musk have consistently pushed back against the investigations. Musk has described the French probe as "politically motivated" and maintains the company has "zero tolerance" for child sexual abuse material. xAI, the company that owns X, says it disabled the Grok feature allowing creation of sexualized images of real individuals after concerns were raised.
