French police have raided the Paris offices of Elon Musk’s social media platform X as part of a widening criminal investigation into the company’s algorithms and use of artificial intelligence, the Paris prosecutor’s office said.
The raid, carried out on February 3, is linked to a year-long investigation into suspected abuse of algorithms and fraudulent data extraction by X or its executives. Prosecutors said the scope of the probe has now been expanded following complaints relating to the functioning of X’s AI chatbot, Grok.
The investigation will examine alleged complicity in the detention and dissemination of child-pornographic images, violations of image rights through sexually explicit deepfakes, and other potential offences, the prosecutor’s office said.
Musk and former X chief executive Linda Yaccarino have been summoned to appear before investigators on April 20, alongside other X employees who have been called as witnesses.
There was no immediate comment from X. In July, Musk rejected the initial allegations, describing the case as a “politically motivated criminal investigation.”
Prosecutors said the inquiry is being conducted by the Paris prosecutor’s cybercrime unit in cooperation with French police cybercrime investigators and Europol. The investigation was initially triggered by a complaint from a lawmaker who alleged that biased algorithms on X may have distorted automated data-processing systems.
In a separate statement, the Paris prosecutor’s office said it had stopped using X and would now communicate via LinkedIn and Instagram.
