PARIS: Billionaire tech entrepreneur Elon Musk has been summoned for a voluntary interview in Paris on Monday as part of a French criminal investigation into his social media platform X, though it remains unclear whether he will appear.
French authorities first issued the summons in February in connection with a probe launched in January 2025 into allegations that X’s algorithm was used to interfere in French political processes.
The investigation has since broadened significantly, now encompassing concerns over X’s artificial intelligence chatbot Grok, including the dissemination of Holocaust denial content and the creation of sexually explicit “deepfake” images.
According to media reports, in early February, French prosecutors carried out searches at X’s Paris offices, a move the company — which denies any wrongdoing — described as a “politicized” and “abusive judicial act.”
At the time, prosecutors also summoned Musk and former X chief executive Linda Yaccarino as “de facto and de jure managers” of the platform during the period under investigation. Musk has dismissed the probe as a “political attack.”
According to Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau, several X employees have also been called to testify as witnesses between April 20 and 24. Authorities have said that failure to appear for voluntary questioning would not halt the investigation.
The French probe focuses on a range of suspected offences, including complicity in the possession of child sexual abuse material and denial of crimes against humanity.
The case comes amid a broader international backlash against Grok after reports that users were able to generate sexualised images of women and minors using simple prompts. A watchdog, the Center for Countering Digital Hate, said the tool produced millions of such images within days of testing.
Separately, regulators in the United Kingdom and the European Union have launched their own investigations into X and its affiliated AI company over potential violations of data protection and online safety laws.
The developments highlight intensifying global scrutiny of major tech platforms and growing regulatory pressure over artificial intelligence and harmful online content.
DOJ declines to aid France in X probe
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has declined to assist French authorities in their investigation into Elon Musk’s social media platform X, according to a report by The Wall Street Journal.
In a letter sent through its Office of International Affairs, the DOJ argued that the French probe appears to use criminal law to regulate online speech in a way that conflicts with First Amendment protections in the United States. The communication reportedly followed multiple requests from France this year seeking American assistance in the case.
The development comes weeks after French authorities raided the Paris offices of X as part of an investigation launched in January 2025 into alleged bias in the platform’s algorithm. The company rejected the move, calling it politically motivated and an “abusive” use of law enforcement.
French prosecutors have since expanded the probe to include allegations related to antisemitic content, Holocaust denial, child sexual abuse material, and non-consensual deepfake imagery on the platform.
According to the report, the DOJ maintained that France’s requests risk drawing the United States into what it described as a politically charged proceeding aimed at regulating a social media company through prosecution. Neither the Justice Department nor X immediately commented publicly on the matter.
