Credited from: AA
On February 3, French authorities conducted a raid on the Paris offices of Elon Musk's social media platform X as part of an ongoing cybercrime investigation. The operation, which involved the European police agency Europol, is focused on allegations of how X's algorithm may have interfered with French politics, following complaints that began in January 2025, according to Business Insider and Le Monde.
As part of the investigation, Musk and former CEO Linda Yaccarino have been summoned for voluntary interviews on April 20, 2026. The prosecutors are particularly scrutinizing claims related to the misuse of algorithmic data and the dissemination of sexually explicit deepfakes through X's AI chatbot Grok, as reported by Reuters and CBS News.
The Paris prosecutor's office indicated that the investigation is characterized by a constructive approach aimed at ensuring X's compliance with French laws. It has evolved following reports of X hosting non-consensual content and various complaints concerning the biased algorithm that may affect user interactions and content visibility, according to South China Morning Post and Channel News Asia.
Amid escalating scrutiny, the Paris prosecutor's office announced its departure from the X platform, urging users to connect via LinkedIn and Instagram instead, a decision that highlights ongoing tensions regarding transparency and regulation between governmental authorities and social media companies, as stated by AA and CBS News.