French Police Raid X Office as Grok Investigation Expands to Include Holocaust Denial Claims

X office raided in France's Grok probe; Elon Musk summoned for questioning

French law enforcement authorities today raided X's Paris office and summoned Elon Musk for questioning as part of an investigation into illegal content. The Paris public prosecutor's office said the yearlong probe was recently expanded because the Grok chatbot was disseminating Holocaust-denial claims and sexually explicit deepfakes. Europol, which is assisting French authorities, said today the "investigation concerns a range of suspected criminal offenses linked to the functioning and use of the platform, including the dissemination of illegal content and other forms of online criminal activity." Europol's cybercrime center provided "an analyst on the ground in Paris to assist national authorities." The French Gendarmerie's cybercrime unit is also aiding the investigation. French authorities want to question both Musk and former X CEO Linda Yaccarino, who quit last year amid a controversy over Grok's praise of Hitler. Prosecutors summoned Musk and Yaccarino for interviews in April 2026, though the interviews are being described as voluntary. The office of Paris public prosecutor Laure Beccuau said today that the potential crimes being investigated include complicity in possession and distribution of pornographic images of minors; infringement of personal image rights via sexual deepfakes; denial of crimes against humanity; fraudulent extraction of data from an automated data processing system; falsification of the operation of an automated data processing system; and operation of an illegal online platform by an organized group. We contacted X today and will update this article if it provides any comment. The company criticized the investigation at an earlier stage, alleging in July 2025 that France was conducting "a politically motivated criminal investigation into X" that "threatens our users' rights to privacy and free speech." UK probe moves ahead with "urgency" X said in July 2025 that it was "in the dark" over what specific allegations it faced related to manipulation of the X algorithm and fraudulent data extraction. X said it would not comply with France's request for access to its recommendation algorithm and real-time data about all user posts. The Paris prosecutor's office today said the investigation is taking a "constructive approach" with the goal of ensuring that X complies with French laws "insofar as it operates on national territory." In addition to Musk and Yaccarino, the prosecutor's office is seeking interviews with X employees about the allegations and potential compliance measures. Separately, UK communications regulator Ofcom today provided an update on its investigation into Grok's generation of sexual deepfakes of real people, including children. Ofcom is "gathering and analyzing evidence to determine whether X has broken the law" and is "progressing the investigation as a matter of urgency," it said. Ofcom is not currently investigating xAI, the Musk company that develops Grok, but said it "continue[s] to demand answers from xAI about the risks it poses." The UK Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), which regulates data protection, said today it opened a formal investigation into X regarding the "processing of personal data in relation to the Grok artificial intelligence system and its potential to produce harmful sexualized image and video content." "We have taken this step following reports that Grok has been used to generate non‑consensual sexual imagery of individuals, including children," the ICO said. "The reported creation and circulation of such content raises serious concerns under UK data protection law and presents a risk of significant potential harm to the public."

French police search X office in Paris, summon Elon Musk for questioning | TechCrunch

French police and Europol searched the local office of X, the Paris prosecutor's office announced on Tuesday. The raid is part of an ongoing investigation launched in 2025 on allegations of "fraudulent extraction of data" of an automated data-processing system "by an organized group." French prosecutors' cybercrime unit said the investigation has now been expanded to cover other alleged crimes, including complicity in possession and distribution of child sexual abuse material, privacy violations, and Holocaust denial. The expansion of the investigation comes as X and its owner Elon Musk face widespread criticism for allowing its Grok AI to be used to generate nonconsensual imagery, including child abuse imagery, of other people on its platform. Musk, who bought X (previously Twitter) in 2022, and former X chief executive Linda Yaccarino were summoned for questioning on April 20. Unnamed X staffers were also summoned for the same week, per the prosecutor's announcement. X and spokespeople for eMed, where Yaccarino is now the chief executive, did not respond to TechCrunch's request for comment. When reached for comment, Maylis De Roeck, a spokesperson for the Paris prosecutor's office, confirmed the raid in a statement: "The Public Prosecutor's Office's objective is ultimately to ensure platform X's compliance with French law, given that it operates within the national territory."

French Police Search X Offices in Paris as UK Launches Investigation Into Grok

Alex Valdes from Bellevue, Washington has been pumping content into the Internet river for quite a while, including stints at MSNBC.com, MSN, Bing, MoneyTalksNews, Tipico and more. He admits to being somewhat fascinated by the Cambridge coffee webcam back in the Roaring '90s. Elon Musk's X offices in Paris were searched by French police on Tuesday, and prosecutors summoned the tech billionaire to appear for questioning in April as part of an investigation into alleged distribution of sexually explicit deepfakes and Holocaust denial content, NBC News reported. Employees of the French prosecutor's cybercrime unit, in partnership with the French police's own cybercrime unit and Europol, the EU's central law enforcement agency, conducted the search. According to NBC, prosecutors want Musk and former X CEO Linda Yaccarino, who resigned in July 2025, to appear for questioning the week of April 20. A representative for X didn't immediately respond to a request for comment. "The voluntary interviews with the managers should enable them to explain their position on the facts and, where applicable, the compliance measures envisaged," the prosecutor's office said in a statement. According to the report, prosecutors are investigating possible complicity in the possession and distribution of child pornography images and the generation of sexual deepfakes. Prosecutors said they are also investigating alleged denial of "crimes against humanity" and the fraudulent extraction of data from an automated processing system. Deepfakes are falsified videos that make it appear that a person is doing or saying something they didn't do. Also on Tuesday, Reuters reported that the UK's Information Commissioner's Office -- an independent watchdog designed to ensure data privacy and enforce data protection laws -- launched an investigation into the xAI chatbot Grok after reports that it had been used to generate sexual imagery of individuals, including children, without consent. Grok is a free-to-use chatbot developed by xAI, an artificial intelligence company founded by Musk in 2023. Much like ChatGPT and Google Gemini, Grok is designed to answer people's questions, assist with tasks, generate and summarize content, and perform other functions. But in January, the chatbot made global headlines and sparked outrage after it was widely used to create non-consensual sexualized images of real people, including minors, in threads on Musk's social-media platform, X. "At this stage, the conduct of this investigation is part of a constructive approach, with the aim of ultimately ensuring that the X platform complies with French laws, insofar as it operates on national territory," the prosecutor's office in Paris said. Both the Paris raid and the UK's new investigation come on the heels of a probe begun last week by the European Union, which will try to determine if X disseminated illegal content -- also prompted by the accusations that people were able to generate sexualized imagery on Grok. Numerous other countries have taken action amid complaints about Grok. Indonesia and Malaysia temporarily banned Grok before lifting the bans. Brazil issued an ultimatum to Grok to stop the circulation of sexual content. Australian politicians have condemned the chatbot. And Canada and India have begun investigations.

Musk's French X Office Searched in Prosecutor's Grok, Bias Probe

Elon Musk's X offices in Paris were searched by French law enforcement's cybercrime unit as part of an ongoing probe into alleged misuses of the social media platform. Musk and X's former Chief Executive Officer Linda Yaccarino were summoned for voluntary hearings taking place in April as the de facto managers of the platform, the Paris prosecutor said in a statement on Tuesday. The prosecutor will also summon other X employees to speak, it said. Police are looking into lawmakers' allegations that the X platform hosted and was used to distribute child sexual abuse material, as well as posts denying crimes against humanity. It's also been accused of fraudulently extracting and falsifying data. At this stage, prosecutor Laure Beccuau said that the investigation is "part of a constructive approach, with the ultimate goal of ensuring that X complies with French law." A representative for X didn't immediately respond to a request for comment. Yaccarino, who left her role in July, couldn't immediately be reached. Last year, the Paris prosecutor openedBloomberg Terminal an investigation into the social media platform's algorithms, probing alleged bias and manipulation. Prosecutors requested access to its recommendation engine and data on user posts, prompting X to deny the allegations and refuse to comply what it described as a "politically-motivated criminal investigation." The probe was widened to X's Grok, an artificial intelligence chatbot that's been in the cross-hairs of regulators in multiple countries after users generated undressed images of children and non-consenting women and posted them to X. XAI, which owns the X platform, has since said it's disabled the ability for people to use Grok to create sexualized images of real people. Musk has said the company has "zero tolerance" for CSAM and nonconsensual nudity. The European Union and UK communications regulator Ofcom have also opened probes.

French cops raid X's Paris office in algorithmic bias probe

French police raided Elon Musk's X offices in Paris this morning as part of a criminal investigation into alleged algorithmic manipulation by foreign powers. The Paris prosecutor's office (Parquet de Paris) announced [PDF] the action on Tuesday. The investigation, which began in January 2025, stems from two complaints - one from a French parliament member and another from a senior official at an unnamed public institution. Prosecutors are investigating allegations of organized disruption of automated data processing systems and fraudulent data extraction, in essence, whether X allowed foreign powers to manipulate its algorithm. Parquet de Paris handed the case to the national police in July. The probe later expanded to include X's Grok AI chatbot, which prosecutors claim disseminated Holocaust denial content and sexually explicit deepfakes. As the investigation involves organized crime allegations, French police have enhanced powers including wiretapping and surveillance of X executives. In a July statement, X described the French probe as an attack on free speech that distorted domestic law to "serve a political agenda." The Register asked X to comment today following the latest announcement, but it did not immediately reply. Parquet de Paris said it has summoned Elon Musk and former CEO Linda Yaccarino to voluntary interviews on April 20, 2026, with other X employees summoned throughout that week. Authorities want to give the current and former social media execs the opportunity to present their case as prosecutors pursue criminal charges. In addition to organized crime concerns, potential charges facing X include the possession and dissemination of child pornography, infringing people's rights through the creation of sexual deepfakes, and the denial of crimes against humanity. Parquet de Paris also confirmed it will close its social media account on X, and anyone wishing to follow its updates can do so instead via LinkedIn or Instagram. The European Commission, the UK, Australia, Canada, and India have opened investigations into Grok following criticism of its illicit image-generation capabilities. Digital rights organizations have also called on Apple and Google to remove X from their app stores, although neither has complied. ®

Why are French prosecutors investigating Elon Musk's X

PARIS, Feb 3 (Reuters) - French prosecutors said on Tuesday they were widening an investigation into Elon Musk's social media platform X and that they have summoned the tech billionaire for questioning in April. A probe into alleged abuse of algorithms and fraudulent data extraction was launched in January 2025. That has now been expanded following complaints over X's AI chatbot Grok, they said. Here are the potential crimes the Paris prosecutor says it is now investigating: Reporting by Dominique Patton; editing by Richard Lough Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab

French prosecutors raid X offices, summon Musk over Grok deepfakes

French prosecutors have raided X's offices in Paris on Tuesday as part of a criminal investigation into the platform's Grok AI tool, widely used to generate sexually explicit images. The investigation was opened in January 2025 and expanded after complaints about Grok generating illegal content and X being used to share sexual deepfakes and Holocaust-denial content. The search was conducted by officers of the National Gendarmerie's cybercrime unit, with assistance from Europol officials. The Paris prosecutor's office also announced today that it summoned Elon Musk and X CEO Linda Yaccarino for voluntary interviews on April 20 in connection with the probe, with additional X employees to be questioned as witnesses between April 20 and April 24. "The voluntary interviews with the executives should allow them to present their position on the facts and, where applicable, the compliance measures envisaged," said Laure Beccuau, the public prosecutor of Paris. "At this stage, the investigation is being conducted in a constructive manner, with the aim of ultimately ensuring that platform X complies with French law, insofar as it operates on national territory." The cybercrime division is investigating seven criminal offenses, including complicity in possessing and distributing child pornography, violations related to sexual deepfakes, Holocaust denial, fraudulent data extraction, system tampering, and operating an illegal online platform as part of an organized criminal enterprise. X's Global Government Affairs account previously described the French authorities' probe over alleged algorithm manipulation and alleged "fraudulent data extraction" (also part of the current investigation) as "a politically-motivated criminal investigation." The European Commission launched its own probe in January 2026 to find whether X properly assessed risks under the Digital Services Act before deploying the Grok artificial intelligence tool after it was used to generate sexually explicit images. X is also being investigated by the Information Commissioner's Office, Ofcom (the UK's independent online safety watchdog), and the Office of California Attorney General Rob Bonta over nonconsensual sexually explicit material generated using Grok. The European Commission has fined X €120 million ($140 million) in December for violations of transparency obligations under the Digital Services Act (DSA).

Paris prosecutor's cybercrime unit searches X office, Musk summoned

Office workers are seen walking towards the building housing the offices of X, the social media platform owned by Elon Musk, after a raid by police on Feb. 3, 2026 in Paris, France. French police raided the offices of Elon Musk's social media network X on Tuesday and prosecutors ordered the tech billionaire to face questions in April in a widening investigation, amid growing scrutiny of the platform by authorities across Europe. France's raid and the summoning of Musk -- which could further increase tensions between Europe and the U.S. over big tech and free speech -- are linked to a year-long investigation into suspected abuse of algorithms and fraudulent data extraction by X or its executives. Britain's privacy watchdog, meanwhile, also kicked off a formal investigation into Musk's artificial intelligence chatbot Grok over the processing of personal data and its potential to produce harmful sexualised images and video content.

Paris prosecutors raid X offices as part of an investigation into child porn, deepfakes and more

PARIS (AP) -- The Paris prosecutors' office said a search was underway Tuesday at the French offices of Elon Musk's social media platform X as part of a preliminary investigation into a range of alleged offences, including spreading child pornography and deepfakes. The investigation was opened in January last year by the prosecutors' cybercrime unit, the statement said. It is looking into alleged "complicity" in detaining and spreading pornographic images of minors, sexually explicit deepfakes, denial of crimes against humanity and manipulation of an automated data processing system as part of an organized group, and other offenses. In addition, prosecutors filed a request for "voluntary interviews" of Elon Musk and Linda Yaccarino, CEO of X from 2023 to 2025, scheduled for April 20. Employees of the platform X have also been summoned that same week in April to be heard as witnesses, the statement said. A spokesperson for X did not respond immediately to a request for comment. In a message posted on X, the Paris prosecutors' office confirmed the ongoing searches and said it was leaving the platform while calling on followers to join on other social media. "At this stage, the conduct of the investigation is based on a constructive approach, with the aim of ultimately ensuring that the X platform complies with French law, as it operates on the national territory," prosecutors said in a statement. The investigation was first opened following reports by a French lawmaker alleging that biased algorithms on X were likely to have distorted the functioning of an automated data processing system. It was later expanded following additional reports that X's artificial intelligence chatbot Grok allegedly denied Holocaust and spread sexually explicit deepfakes, the statement said.

Paris Authorities Raid the Offices of Elon Musk’s X

European investigations into Elon Musk’s social media network X are escalating fast. Paris prosecutors’ cybercrime unit, along with Europol and French national police, raided X’s offices in the country on Tuesday. The city prosecutor’s office also announced in a statement that it has issued summonses to Musk and former X CEO Linda Yaccarino for a hearing scheduled for April. The raid is part of an investigation that began in January 2025, initially focused on suspected manipulation of X’s recommendation algorithm and illegal data extraction. Since then, the probe has widened to examine other possible violations, including complicity in the spread of pornographic images involving minors, the use of sexual deepfakes that infringe on people’s rights, and the circulation of Holocaust denial content. X did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Gizmodo. However, in a post last summer, the company denied the initial allegations. “French authorities have launched a politically-motivated criminal investigation into X over the alleged manipulation of its algorithm and alleged 'fraudulent data extraction.' X categorically denies these allegations,†the post said. Still, France is far from the only government scrutinizing the platform. Over in the U.K., the country’s online regulator Ofcom said Tuesday that its own investigation into sexualized deepfakes on X is progressing as a “matter of urgency.†Ofcom opened that probe early last month after users on X were found using Grok, the platform’s AI chatbot, to generate sexualized images from photos posted by other users without their consent, including images involving minors. On Tuesday, a separate U.K. regulator, the Information Commissioner’s Office, announced its own investigation into X and its parent company, xAI, over Grok’s role in generating such content. “We have taken this step following reports that Grok has been used to generate non-consensual sexual imagery of individuals, including children,†the regulator said in a statement. “The reported creation and circulation of such content raises serious concerns under UK data protection law and presents a risk of significant potential harm to the public.†Elsewhere in Europe, the European Commission announced last week that it has also opened an official probe into Grok’s sexual deepfakes. Across the pond in the U.S., California Attorney General Rob Bonta said last month that his office has launched its own investigation into the issue. For its part, X rolled out new measures last month aimed at curbing sexual deepfakes, following weeks of backlash and mounting government scrutiny around the world. However, those changes stop short of a platform-wide fix; instead, the company added layers of limited restrictions on how Grok can be used.

Paris police raid X offices as part of expanded criminal probe

Elon Musk attends the U.S.-Saudi Investment Forum in Washington in November. (Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters) French investigators raided X's Paris headquarters on Tuesday as part of an expanded criminal probe involving seven alleged offenses including spreading Holocaust denial content and involvement in distributing child pornography. The investigation comes amid a broader effort by European governments to curb the spread of unlawful content -- including child abuse imagery -- on the social media platform formerly known as Twitter. French authorities initiated the investigation more than a year ago, focused initially on X's algorithm and handling of data. In the months since, authorities said, they expanded the scope of the probe following reports that Grok, X's AI tool, was disseminating sexually explicit deepfakes and Holocaust denial content. In a statement Tuesday, Paris Public Prosecutor Laure Beccuau said her office was conducting the search alongside Europol and French law enforcement specializing in cybercrime. Authorities also summoned current and former X employees, including owner Elon Musk and former chief executive Linda Yaccarino, to attend voluntary interviews in Paris in April, she said. "At this stage, the investigation is being conducted in a constructive manner with the objective of ensuring X's compliance with French laws insofar as it operates on national territory," the statement said. It added that investigators wanted to give Musk and other employees the opportunity to explain their position. No charges have yet been brought. X did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday morning. In France, it is a criminal offense to deny the historical existence of the Holocaust, with those convicted facing up to one year's imprisonment and potential fines of up to around $50,000. The probe is the latest in a swirl of investigations initiated by European countries and the European Union into X, many focused on the dissemination of abuse imagery. Last month, Britain's communications regulator, Ofcom, announced a formal investigation following reports that Grok was "being used to create and share undressed images of people -- which may amount to intimate image abuse or pornography -- and sexualised images of children that may amount to child sexual abuse material." And last week, the European Commission announced a separate investigation into X to assess whether the platform's deployment of Grok in Europe had breached European law. The investigation also relates to the dissemination of sexually explicit images. In response to outrage from governments and regulators, Musk said last month that X had stopped Grok from generating sexualized images of people without their consent "in those jurisdictions where it's illegal." A Washington Post investigation found that Musk's AI start-up, xAI, allegedly embraced and rolled back guardrails on sexualized material, ignoring warnings about potential legal and ethical risks.

Paris prosecutors raid X offices as part of investigation into child abuse images

PARIS -- French prosecutors raided the offices of social media platform X on Tuesday as part of a preliminary investigation into allegations including spreading child sexual abuse images and deepfakes. They have also summoned billionaire owner Elon Musk for questioning. X and Musk's artificial intelligence company xAI also face intensifying scrutiny from Britain's data privacy regulator, which opened formal investigations into how they handled personal data when they developed and deployed Musk's artificial intelligence chatbot Grok. Grok, which was built by xAI and is available through X, sparked global outrage last month after it pumped out a torrent of sexualized nonconsensual deepfake images in response to requests from X users. The French investigation was opened in January last year by the prosecutors' cybercrime unit, the Paris prosecutors' office said in a statement. It's looking into alleged "complicity" in possessing and spreading pornographic images of minors, sexually explicit deepfakes, denial of crimes against humanity and manipulation of an automated data processing system as part of an organized group, among other charges. Prosecutors asked Musk and former CEO Linda Yaccarino to attend "voluntary interviews" on April 20. Employees of X have also been summoned that same week to be heard as witnesses, the statement said. Yaccarino was CEO from May 2023 until July 2025. A spokesperson for X did not respond to multiple requests for comment. X's lawyer in France, Kami Haeri, told The Associated Press: ''We are not making any comment at this stage." In a message posted on X, the Paris prosecutors' office announced the ongoing searches at the company's offices in France and said it was leaving the platform while calling on followers to join it on other social media. "At this stage, the conduct of the investigation is based on a constructive approach, with the aim of ultimately ensuring that the X platform complies with French law, as it operates on the national territory," the prosecutors' statement said. European Union police agency Europol "is supporting the French authorities in this," Europol spokesperson Jan Op Gen Oorth told the AP, without elaborating. French authorities opened their investigation after reports from a French lawmaker alleging that biased algorithms on X likely distorted the functioning of an automated data processing system. It expanded after Grok generated posts that allegedly denied the Holocaust, a crime in France, and spread sexually explicit deepfakes, the statement said. Grok wrote in a widely shared post in French that gas chambers at the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp were designed for "disinfection with Zyklon B against typhus" rather than for mass murder -- language long associated with Holocaust denial. In later posts on X, the chatbot reversed itself and acknowledged that its earlier reply was wrong, saying it had been deleted and pointed to historical evidence that Zyklon B was used to kill more than 1 million people in Auschwitz gas chambers. The chatbot also appeared to praise Adolf Hitler last year, in comments that X took down after complaints. In Britain, the Information Commissioner's Office said it's looking into whether X and xAI followed the law when processing personal data and whether Grok had any measures in place to prevent its use to generate "harmful manipulated images." "The reports about Grok raise deeply troubling questions about how people's personal data has been used to generate intimate or sexualised images without their knowledge or consent, and whether the necessary safeguards were put in place to prevent this," said William Malcolm, an executive director at the watchdog. He didn't specify what the penalty would be if the probe found the companies didn't comply with data protection laws. A separate investigation into Grok launched last month by the U.K. media regulator, Ofcom, is ongoing. Ofcom said Tuesday it's still gathering evidence and warned the probe could take months. X has also been under pressure from the EU. The 27-nation bloc's executive arm opened an investigation last month after Grok spewed nonconsensual sexualized deepfake images on the platform. Brussels has already hit X with a 120-million euro (then-$140 million) fine for shortcomings under the bloc's sweeping digital regulations, including blue checkmarks that broke the rules on "deceptive design practices" that risked exposing users to scams and manipulation. On Monday, Musk 's space exploration and rocket business, SpaceX, announced that it acquired xAI in a deal that will also combine Grok, X and his satellite communication company Starlink.

French X Offices Raided as Authorities Investigate Explicit Deepfakes

French authorities have raided the Paris offices of social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, as part of a widening investigation into allegations that include the spread of child sexual abuse material and sexually explicit deepfake images, marking a significant escalation in European scrutiny of the company and its artificial intelligence products. As reported by the Associated Press, the searches, carried out Tuesday by French prosecutors, are part of a preliminary investigation opened in January last year by the Paris prosecutor's cybercrime unit. Investigators are examining whether the platform was complicit in possessing or distributing pornographic images of minors, generating nonconsensual deepfakes, denying crimes against humanity, and manipulating automated data processing systems as part of an organized group, according to a statement from the prosecutor's office. Prosecutors have summoned X owner Elon Musk and former X chief executive Linda Yaccarino to attend voluntary interviews on April 20. Several X employees have also been called to testify. Yaccarino led the company from May 2023 until her departure in July 2025. In a statement posted on its own platform, X condemned the raid, calling it "an abusive act of law enforcement theater" and alleging that it was politically motivated rather than grounded in fair judicial process. The Paris prosecutor's office confirmed the searches in a separate post on X, announcing it was leaving the platform and urging followers to connect through other social networks. Prosecutors said the investigation remains focused on ensuring that X complies with French law while operating within the country. European Union police agency Europol is supporting the French authorities, though it declined to provide further details. The French probe was initially triggered by reports from a French lawmaker who alleged that biased algorithms on X may have distorted automated data processing systems. The scope of the investigation was later expanded following a series of incidents involving Grok, the AI chatbot developed by Musk's artificial intelligence company xAI and integrated into X. As covered by PetaPixel in January, Grok has drawn international attention after generating sexually explicit nonconsensual deepfake images in response to user prompts, including images involving women and children. The backlash intensified last month after the chatbot began granting requests to modify images posted by other users, fueling concerns about safeguards against abuse. xAI has since said it restricted image generation and editing capabilities for non-paying users following global criticism. French prosecutors also cited posts in which Grok allegedly denied the Holocaust, a criminal offense under French law. In one widely shared response written in French, the chatbot claimed that gas chambers at the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp were designed for disinfection rather than mass murder, language long associated with Holocaust denial. Grok later reversed the statement, acknowledged the error, and cited historical evidence that Zyklon B was used to kill more than one million people at the site. The chatbot has also previously appeared to praise Adolf Hitler, comments that X removed after complaints. The controversy surrounding Grok has extended beyond France. Britain's Information Commissioner's Office has opened a formal investigation into whether X and xAI complied with data protection laws when processing personal data and whether safeguards were in place to prevent the creation of harmful manipulated images. "The reports about Grok raise deeply troubling questions about how people's personal data has been used to generate intimate or sexualized images without their knowledge or consent," said William Malcolm, an executive director at the regulator. He did not specify potential penalties if violations are found. Britain's media regulator, Ofcom, has also launched a separate inquiry into Grok, warning that its investigation could take months. Meanwhile, the European Union's executive arm has opened its own probe after Grok generated nonconsensual sexualized deepfake images on X. The EU has already fined X €120 million for violations of its digital regulations, citing features such as blue checkmarks that regulators said amounted to deceptive design practices that exposed users to scams and manipulation. First launched in 2023, Grok is Musk's attempt to compete with AI chatbots such as OpenAI's ChatGPT and Google's Gemini. Built by xAI and trained on large datasets, the chatbot has been shaped in part by Musk's stated opposition to what he describes as "woke" ideology in the technology sector. Critics and researchers have said this approach, combined with looser content restrictions, has contributed to repeated incidents involving antisemitic rhetoric, political bias, and harmful imagery. The chatbot has also faced government action elsewhere. Turkish courts last year ordered a ban on access to Grok after it allegedly generated vulgar and insulting content about the country's president and other public figures. In another incident, xAI said an "unauthorized modification" by an employee caused Grok to repeatedly reference South African racial politics in unrelated conversations. On Monday, Musk's space and satellite ventures further deepened the integration of his businesses when SpaceX announced it had acquired xAI, a deal that brings Grok, X, and satellite communications provider Starlink under a closer corporate alignment. As investigations continue across multiple jurisdictions, regulators in Europe are increasingly testing how existing laws apply to rapidly evolving AI systems embedded within global social media platforms, raising broader questions about accountability, content moderation, and the limits of automated speech.

Paris prosecutors raided X offices and summoned Musk as global crackdown on Grok intensifies

* Beyond France, European and British regulators have opened investigations. California's attorney general has demanded xAI halt "illegal" activity, and Malaysia and Indonesia have blocked Grok entirely. Driving the news: The French raid, conducted alongside EU law enforcement agency Europol, stems from an investigation launched in January 2025, the Paris prosecutor's office said Tuesday. * The probe focused on alleged algorithm abuse and expanded after reports of "Holocaust denial content" and "sexually explicit deepfakes," prosecutor Laure Beccuau said in a statement. * X did not immediately respond to Axios' request for comment. * Musk and Yaccarino, who stepped down in July as CEO, were called to appear in Paris on April 20. Catch up quick: Grok limited some image generation capabilities last month after a barrage of criticism over users harnessing the tool to remove clothing from images of women and minors. * "Anyone using Grok to make illegal content will suffer the same consequences as if they upload illegal content," Musk wrote on X. xAI's terms of service prohibit "the sexualization or exploitation of children." * Still, analysis from the Center for Countering Digital Hate estimated that in a matter of days, Grok produced millions of sexualized images, including more than 20,000 that appeared to depict children. * The outcry highlights a major legal question about AI: Who is liable when a chatbot causes harm? Zoom out: UK regulators opened investigations into xAI and X over Grok's "potential to produce harmful sexualised" content, according to a Tuesday announcement. * The reports "raise deeply troubling questions about how people's personal data has been used to generate intimate or sexualised images without their knowledge or consent," said William Malcolm of the UK Information Commissioner's Office in a statement. * The office is working with UK communications watchdog Ofcom, which is also investigating if X has broken the law. Ofcom is not investigating xAI. State of play: California Attorney General Rob Bonta sent xAI a cease-and-desist letter in January, demanding the company halt the "illegal" creation of deepfake sexual images and child sexual abuse material. * Bonta opened an investigation into xAI days earlier, saying Grok "appears to be facilitating the large-scale production" of nonconsensual intimate images used to harass women and girls. * The European Commission also opened a probe in late January to determine whether X sufficiently mitigated risks from Grok spreading the sexually explicit images. * The EU fined X €120 million in December for violations tied to deceptive design and advertising transparency. Zoom out: Grok's controversies extend beyond the nonconsensual images: It has been accused of spreading election misinformation, amplifying false claims of a "white genocide" in South Africa and using antisemitic language while hyping Adolf Hitler. Go deeper: Grok deepfakes accelerate Hill action

Police Raid SpaceX's Brand New Offices

All the nasty problems at xAI are now SpaceX problems, following the acquisition. It was only yesterday that Elon Musk announced that SpaceX had acquired his AI company xAI, a merger that catapulted the rocket maker into being the most valuable private company in the world, but raised significant questions about bringing two firms with vastly different missions under the same wing. Now, the freshly-joined entity is facing one of its first major tests. On Tuesday, French authorities raided the offices of X, Elon Musk's social media site owned by xAI, as part of its ongoing criminal investigation into the sexual deepfakes generated by its AI chatbot Grok. Following the acquisition, of course, those X offices are now SpaceX offices. The raid was carried out by the Paris Public Prosecutor Office's cybercrime unit, in collaboration with French police and Europol. And it's perhaps an early warning sign of how all the baggage that SpaceX is inheriting by bringing Musk's controversial AI efforts into the fold may haunt the company going forward. In an announcement, the Paris prosecutors said it was investigating criminal offenses related to the distribution of "child pornography images," the infringement of personal rights through the generation of "sexual deepfakes," and the denial of "crimes against humanity," per NBC News. In addition to searching X's offices, Musk and X's former CEO Linda Yaccarino were issued a voluntary summons to appear and answer questions the week of April 20. SpaceX is not without controversy: its Starship rocket has generated plenty of scrutiny and public backlash from its frequent explosions, which critics argue threaten public safety and flout environmental laws. But by and large, it's the most beloved Musk venture, as space exploration is something that earns a lot of public goodwill, serving some greater mission for all of humankind. Now, its image is undoubtedly being tainted by its association with xAI and Grok. Grok in particular is no stranger to making the wrong kinds of headlines. Last month, French prosecutors opened an investigation into Musk's platform after the AI chatbot was used to generate nonconsensual sexualized images of real people, many of them appearing to be minors, in a weeks-long spree that started at the end of December and stretched into January. The digital "undressing" trend was so out of control that the AI content analysis firm Copyleaks estimated Grok was generating a nonconsensually sexualized image every single minute. In all, the Center for Countering Digital Hate estimated that as many as 3,000,000 of these sexualized images were produced, including more than 23,000 images of children. The prosecutor office also said it was investigating the distribution of Holocaust denial content on the platform. Far-right accounts have flourished under Musk's ownership of X, formerly Twitter, with Musk often resharing racist conspiracy theories and antisemitic rhetoric -- a habit mirrored by Grok, which gained notoriety for calling itself "MechaHitler" during a particularly racist posting spree last summer. Governments abroad have seemed to take Grok's AI nudes of women and children more seriously. Indonesia and Malaysia banned access to Grok, though the former has just lifted its ban "conditionally." UK prime minister Keir Starmer vowed to crackdown on the chatbot and showed support for the nation's communications regulator Ofcom, after it announced its own investigation into Grok. Mirroring developments across the channel, the UK's Information Commissioner's Office announced its own probe into Grok on Tuesday, over its "potential to produce harmful sexualized image and video content," per the BBC. "The reports about Grok raise deeply troubling questions about how people's personal data has been used to generate intimate or sexualised images without their knowledge or consent, and whether the necessary safeguards were put in place to prevent this," William Malcolm, the ICO's executive director for regulatory risk and innovation, said in a statement. The renewed regulatory pressure abroad comes after fresh reporting from the Washington Post detailed how some xAI employees were appalled by the startup's abrupt pivot into embracing heavily sexualized content, as Musk pushed to make Grok as engaging as possible. Employees said that the company rolled back guardrails on sexual material and ignored repeated warnings that Grok could allow users to churn out sexualized images of children and celebrities that could be illegal. xAI's safety team reportedly consisted of just two or three people for most of 2025. Though Starship and a revenge-porn generating Grok would seemingly have little in common, Musk explained in an announcement about the acquisition that space-based AI was the "only way to scale" the technology in the long-term because of the vast amounts of solar energy that could be harvested and all the untapped real-estate that putting data centers in orbit opens up. He also stated that he wants to populate the Earth's orbit with AI satellites to build what he likened to a "sentient sun." These are ambitions that will be years in the making -- but in the meantime, SpaceX will have to survive its now close association with CSAM-generating AI.

French Prosecutors Raid X Offices and Summon Musk

In response, Botherel said: "Do you believe yourselves above French, European, and even American laws? There is no freedom without responsibility and oversight." The potential crimes that the Paris prosecutor is now investigating include complicity in the possession of images of minors of a pornographic nature, complicity in the organised distribution, offering, or making available of images of minors of a pornographic nature, and defamation of a person's image (deepfakes of sexual nature). Shortly after news broke from the Paris prosecutor's office on Tuesday morning, the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) -- a U.K. data privacy watchdog -- announced it is opening investigations into X "in relation to the Grok artificial intelligence system and its potential to produce harmful sexualised image and video content." The ICO said it is conducting these investigations "following reports that Grok has been used to generate non‑consensual sexual imagery of individuals, including children" and that "the reported creation and circulation of such content raises serious concerns under U.K. data protection law and presents a risk of significant potential harm to the public."

French Police Raid X's Paris Office in Probe of Grok AI and Illegal Content - Decrypt

UK regulators have opened parallel investigations under data protection and online safety laws. French authorities raided the Paris offices of social media platform X on Tuesday as part of a widening criminal investigation into alleged child pornography linked to the platform's AI chatbot, Grok. According to a report by Sky News, the search was carried out by France's specialized cybercrime unit in coordination with Europol. Prosecutors said X owner Elon Musk has been summoned for questioning, along with several current and former executives, including former chief executive Linda Yaccarino. "The investigation concerns a range of suspected criminal offences linked to the functioning and use of the platform, including the dissemination of illegal content and other forms of online criminal activity," Europol said in a statement. "Europol stands ready to continue supporting the French authorities as the investigation progresses." The probe in Grok, launched last month, centers on allegations that X was complicit in the distribution of child sexual abuse material and other illegal content, with authorities alleging that Grok was used to generate more than 23,000 sexualized images of children. Last August, xAI launched "Spicy Mode" specifically to generate NSFW content, including a high-profile case involving deepfakes of Taylor Swift. In a post on X, the Global Government Affairs department of the social media giant denied any wrongdoing, calling the raid a "politicized criminal investigation into alleged manipulation of algorithms and purported fraudulent data extraction." "Today's staged raid reinforces our conviction that this investigation distorts French law, circumvents due process, and endangers free speech," they wrote. "X is committed to defending its fundamental rights and the rights of its users. We will not be intimidated by the actions of French judicial authorities today." Consumer advocacy groups argue that when regulators investigate AI developers whose tools are used to create illegal content, they should examine whether the company could have reasonably anticipated how those tools would be misused. "Regulators should examine whether the company's design choices made illegal misuse foreseeable, whether risk assessments were adequate, and whether safeguards were meaningfully tested before launch," Big Tech Accountability Advocate at Public Citizen, J.B. Branch, told Decrypt. "Platforms that profit from rapid deployment must bear responsibility for the harms that deployment creates. That is exactly what happens in other industries." While current laws against non-consensual sexual imagery and child sexual abuse material remain essential, Branch said they were not built for AI that can "mass-produce harm at scalable speed." "We need clearer, proactive obligations that require companies to prevent AI-enabled abuse before it happens, including independent regulator testing that can stress test problems before AI products go to market," he said. "When something this serious happens, the tool should be immediately removed." Investigations into the chatbot have now expanded across multiple jurisdictions, including the UK, the EU, India, Australia, and the U.S. The same day that French officials raided X's Paris office, the UK-based Information Commissioner's Office announced it had also opened an investigation into Grok. "We have taken this step following reports that Grok has been used to generate non‑consensual sexual imagery of individuals, including children," ICO Executive Director Regulatory Risk & Innovation, William Malcolm, said in a statement. "The reported creation and circulation of such content raises serious concerns under UK data protection law and presents a risk of significant potential harm to the public." According to Malcolm, these concerns relate to whether personal data has been processed lawfully, fairly, and transparently, and whether appropriate safeguards were built into Grok's design and deployment to prevent the generation of harmful manipulated images using personal data. "Where those safeguards fail, individuals lose control of their personal data in ways that expose them to serious harm," he wrote. "Examining these risks is central to the ICO's role in protecting people's rights and holding organisations to account as they design and deploy AI technology." The actions in Europe are the latest targeting X and Grok, last month the UK-based media regulator Ofcom opened an investigation into whether X violated its obligations under the Online Safety Act. In January, following the international backlash against Grok, xAI said it restricted the chatbot's image editing capabilities and blocked certain prompts related to generating images of people. The Paris raid comes a day after Musk announced SpaceX acquired xAI, the artificial intelligence startup that had previously absorbed X, placing the social media platform and its AI systems under SpaceX's corporate umbrella as regulatory scrutiny intensifies. "We are aware of the fact that X or Grok is now offering a 'Spicy Mode' showing explicit sexual content with some output generated with childlike images," EU Commission spokesperson Thomas Regnier said during a recent press conference in Brussels. "This is not spicy. This is illegal. This is appalling. This is disgusting. This has no place in Europe." SpaceX and xAI did not immediately respond to requests for comment by Decrypt.

X office in France searched as Paris prosecutor summons Elon Musk for questioning

Paris, France -- French authorities have asked Elon Musk to appear to answer questions as part of a probe into his social media platform X, the Paris prosecutor's office said Monday, as authorities searched X's office in the French capital. "Summons for voluntary interviews on April 20, 2026, in Paris have been sent to Mr. Elon Musk and Ms. Linda Yaccarino, in their capacity as de facto and de jure managers of the X platform at the time of the events," the Paris prosecutor's office said in a statement. French cybercrime authorities were carrying out a search, meanwhile, at X's offices in Paris, the prosecutor's office said. The summonses for Musk and Yaccarino and the search at the X office were related to an investigation launched in January 2025 over complaints about how X's algorithm recommends content to users and gathers data, the prosecutor's office said. Officials have previously raised concern that the way X works could amount to political interference. The investigation is to ensure that X is in compliance with French laws, and the prosecutor added that it was broadened last year after reports that X was allowing users to share nonconsensual, AI-generated sexually explicit imagery, and holocaust denial content. X and Musk have dismissed the French investigation, and similar probes by European Union and British authorities, as baseless, politically motivated attacks on free speech. Yaccarino resigned as CEO of X in July last year after two years at the helm of the company. The investigation is being led by the cybercrime unit of the prosecutor's office, in conjunction with French police and the joint European policing agency Europol. A CBS News investigation found late last month that the Grok AI tool on Musk's X platform still allowed users in the U.S., U.K. and EU to digitally undress people without their consent, despite public pledges from the company to stop the function. The Grok chatbot, both via its standalone app and for premium X account holders using the platform, allowed people to use artificial intelligence to edit images of real people and show them in revealing clothing such as bikinis. A request for comment on the findings of CBS News' investigation was met with an apparent auto-reply from Musk's company xAI, saying only: "Legacy media lies." Scrutiny of the Grok feature has mounted rapidly in recent months, with the British government warning X could face a U.K.-wide ban if it fails to block the "bikini-fy" tool, and EU regulators announcing their own investigation into the Grok AI editing function on in late January. CBS News found Grok still was still enabling users to digitally undress people in photos weeks after X said, earlier in January that it had, "implemented technological measures to prevent the [@]Grok account on X globally from allowing the editing of images of real people in revealing clothing such as bikinis. This restriction applies to all users, including paid subscribers."

French summons Musk for 'voluntary interview' as authorities raid X offices

Paris (France) (AFP) - France summoned billionaire Elon Musk to a "voluntary interview" as cybercrime authorities on Tuesday searched the French offices of his social media network X, the Paris public prosecutor's office said. The operation, which involves EU police agency Europol, is part of an investigation opened in January 2025 into whether X's algorithm was used to interfere in French politics. "Summons for voluntary interviews on April 20, 2026, in Paris have been sent to Mr. Elon Musk and Ms. Linda Yaccarino, in their capacity as de facto and de jure managers of the X platform at the time of the events," the prosecutors said in a statement. Yaccarino resigned as CEO of X in July last year, after two years at the helm of the company. Paris cybercrime prosecutors called for the police probe in July 2025 to investigate suspected crimes -- including manipulating and extracting data from automated systems "as part of a criminal gang" -- after receiving two complaints in January 2025. One of those came from Eric Bothorel, an MP from President Emmanuel Macron's centrist party, who complained of "reduced diversity of voices and options" and Musk's "personal interventions" in the platform's management since he took it over in 2022. The investigation was then broadened after additional reports criticised the AI chatbot Grok's role in disseminating Holocaust denials and sexual deepfakes on X, the prosecutor's office said on Tuesday. 'Politically motivated' Laurent Buanec, France director of X, pushed back against the investigation in January 2025, saying X had "strict, clear and public rules", which protected the platform from hate speech and disinformation. The US also issued a harsh condemnation in July, saying it would defend the free speech of Americans against "acts of foreign censorship". The social media platform, which has denied the allegations, also in July called the investigation "politically motivated". In late January, the European Union hit X with an investigation over Grok's generation of sexualised deepfake images of women and minors. The EU move comes despite repeated US threats of retaliation against enforcement of tech rules that President Donald Trump's administration says curb free speech and unfairly target US firms.

France raids X offices, summons Elon Musk and Linda Yaccarino

The raid pertains to an investigation launched into the social media site in January 2025. French cybercrime prosecutors have raided X's offices in the country, and summoned the social media platform's owner Elon Musk and former CEO Linda Yaccarino for questioning. "A search is being carried out at X's French offices by the Paris prosecutor's office cybercrime unit", a translated post from the Paris Prosecutor's Office on X read. The raid pertains to an investigation launched into the social media site in January 2025 when authorities began looking into X's content algorithm. The probe was later expanded to include Grok after reports highlighted the chatbot for its alleged role in disseminating Holocaust denials and sexual deepfakes. At the time, X's Global Government Affairs account published a lengthy statement calling the investigation "politically motivated" and "criminal". X said it categorically denied the allegations, adding that the investigation threatens the platform's rights to privacy and free speech. Both X and Grok are owned by xAI, which merged with Musk's space venture SpaceX in a $1.25trn deal. Today's (3 February) search was undertaken alongside the national cyber unit of Gendarmerie - French police's own cybercrime unit - and Europol. Moreover, the Paris Prosecutor's Office also announced today that it is exiting X. In a statement, the Paris Prosecutor's Office added that Musk and Yaccarino have been called in for voluntary questioning on 20 April "in their capacity as de facto and de jure managers of the X platform at the time of the events". Yaccarino quit as X's CEO in July 2025 after serving in the role for two years. France's investigation into X is looking at the social platform's alleged "complicity" around spreading child sexual abuse material and sexually explicit deepfakes. The EU launched its own Digital Services Act probe into X late last month to assess whether the social media site properly assessed and mitigated risks stemming from its in-platform AI chatbot Grok. Alongside this, the EU is continuing with a separate years-long investigation into X to assess if the platform mitigated risks stemming from its recommender systems, including the impact of the recently announced switch to a Grok-based recommender system. Meanwhile, UK media regulator Ofcom has also launched an investigation into X over concerns that Grok may have produced child sexual abuse material. Don't miss out on the knowledge you need to succeed. Sign up for the Daily Brief, Silicon Republic's digest of need-to-know sci-tech news.

Elon Musk's X offices in Paris were just raided by French prosecutors. Here's why

French prosecutors raided the offices of social media platform X on Tuesday as part of a preliminary investigation into allegations including spreading child sexual abuse images and deepfakes. They have also summoned billionaire owner Elon Musk for questioning. X and Musk's artificial intelligence company xAI also face intensifying scrutiny from Britain's data privacy regulator, which opened formal investigations into how they handled personal data when they developed and deployed Musk's artificial intelligence chatbot Grok. Grok, which was built by xAI and is available through X, sparked global outrage last month after it pumped out a torrent of sexualized nonconsensual deepfake images in response to requests from X users. The French investigation was opened in January last year by the prosecutors' cybercrime unit, the Paris prosecutors' office said in a statement. It's looking into alleged "complicity" in possessing and spreading pornographic images of minors, sexually explicit deepfakes, denial of crimes against humanity and manipulation of an automated data processing system as part of an organized group, among other charges. Prosecutors asked Musk and former CEO Linda Yaccarino to attend "voluntary interviews" on April 20. Employees of X have also been summoned that same week to be heard as witnesses, the statement said. Yaccarino was CEO from May 2023 until July 2025. A spokesperson for X did not respond to multiple requests for comment. X's lawyer in France, Kami Haeri, told The Associated Press: "We are not making any comment at this stage." In a message posted on X, the Paris prosecutors' office announced the ongoing searches at the company's offices in France and said it was leaving the platform while calling on followers to join it on other social media. "At this stage, the conduct of the investigation is based on a constructive approach, with the aim of ultimately ensuring that the X platform complies with French law, as it operates on the national territory," the prosecutors' statement said. European Union police agency Europol "is supporting the French authorities in this," Europol spokesperson Jan Op Gen Oorth told the AP, without elaborating. French authorities opened their investigation after reports from a French lawmaker alleging that biased algorithms on X likely distorted the functioning of an automated data processing system. It expanded after Grok generated posts that allegedly denied the Holocaust, a crime in France, and spread sexually explicit deepfakes, the statement said. Grok wrote in a widely shared post in French that gas chambers at the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp were designed for "disinfection with Zyklon B against typhus" rather than for mass murder -- language long associated with Holocaust denial. In later posts on X, the chatbot reversed itself and acknowledged that its earlier reply was wrong, saying it had been deleted and pointed to historical evidence that Zyklon B was used to kill more than 1 million people in Auschwitz gas chambers. The chatbot also appeared to praise Adolf Hitler last year, in comments that X took down after complaints. In Britain, the Information Commissioner's Office said it's looking into whether X and xAI followed the law when processing personal data and whether Grok had any measures in place to prevent its use to generate "harmful manipulated images." "The reports about Grok raise deeply troubling questions about how people's personal data has been used to generate intimate or sexualised images without their knowledge or consent, and whether the necessary safeguards were put in place to prevent this," said William Malcolm, an executive director at the watchdog. He didn't specify what the penalty would be if the probe found the companies didn't comply with data protection laws. A separate investigation into Grok launched last month by the U.K. media regulator, Ofcom, is ongoing. Ofcom said Tuesday it's still gathering evidence and warned the probe could take months. X has also been under pressure from the EU. The 27-nation bloc's executive arm opened an investigation last month after Grok spewed nonconsensual sexualized deepfake images on the platform. Brussels has already hit X with a 120-million euro (then-$140 million) fine for shortcomings under the bloc's sweeping digital regulations, including blue checkmarks that broke the rules on "deceptive design practices" that risked exposing users to scams and manipulation. On Monday, Musk 's space exploration and rocket business, SpaceX, announced that it acquired xAI in a deal that will also combine Grok, X and his satellite communication company Starlink.

French investigators raid Paris offices of Elon Musk's X

Prosecutors said they had summoned Musk, the platform's billionaire owner, to come for questioning. Investigators have raided the Paris offices of Elon Musk's social media site X, formerly known as Twitter. French prosecutors said they were widening their probe into the platform and had summoned its billionaire owner for questioning. The investigation, launched last month, centres on allegations of algorithm abuse and fraudulent data extractions. It has now been broadened to include complaints against Grok, the platform's controversial AI chatbot.

Police search X's premises in France as prosecutors summon Elon Musk

PARIS -- French police searched the premises of X in Paris on Tuesday as prosecutors issued a summons to the social platform's owner, Elon Musk, raising the stakes in a yearlong investigation that has heightened a wider trans-Atlantic dispute over how to regulate tech companies. The cybercrime division of the Paris prosecutor's office is investigating X in relation to seven accusations, including complicity in distributing images of a child of pornographic nature, denial of crimes against humanity and fraudulent extraction of data, according to a statement Tuesday from the city's chief prosecutor, Laure Beccuau. The investigation began last January amid concerns over problems with X's algorithm, the digital process that organizes data on the platform. The case expanded after further accusations that Grok, X's artificial intelligence chatbot, was spreading Holocaust denial claims and sexual deepfakes, Beccuau said in the statement. The prosecutor's office said in a second statement that X had stopped using a tool meant to restrict child pornography, raising concerns that the platform was "deliberately allowing child pornography content to flourish." The office added that Grok allowed users to create sexualized versions of existing images without the consent of their subjects. According to the statement, X is also refusing to give French investigators information about subscribers suspected of crimes. Several people associated with X, including Musk and Linda Yaccarino, the company's former CEO, have been summoned to speak to French authorities, the prosecutors added. The news came a day after Musk said he was merging his AI company, xAI, with SpaceX, his rocket company. X did not respond to requests for comment. In July, the company said in a public statement that it "categorically denies" the accusations about its algorithm and use of data, and would not cooperate with French authorities' demands. It called the investigation "politically-motivated" and a distortion of French law "in order to serve a political agenda and, ultimately, restrict free speech." The search Tuesday marked an escalation in a broader dispute between European governments and American tech companies -- one that has revealed sharp trans-Atlantic differences over the limits of free speech and the question of whether and how to regulate social media platforms. The issue has become particularly tense under the Trump administration, which has spoken and acted increasingly aggressively against Europeans it associates with the push to regulate American tech firms. In a separate development Tuesday, Britain's data protection regulator announced it had opened its own investigation into X and xAI over sexually explicit images generated by Grok. In recent years, the European Union has enacted sweeping regulations over American tech companies, whose platforms pervade modern communication, threatening them with fines unless they police their platforms for illicit content, misinformation and hate speech. In December, the EU issued the first fine under its new Digital Services Act, penalizing X $140 million for violations. Last week, EU regulators announced an investigation into X over the spread of sexualized images generated by Grok. Europeans call their actions a democratic prerogative necessary to protect citizens from sexual and other abuse, rather than restrictions on expression. The Trump administration calls the fines an unfair money grab from American companies and says the regulations are an attack on free speech. The United States has very few legal restrictions on speech, but in France there are criminal penalties for hate speech, Holocaust denial and attacks on religion. French authorities have shown a rare willingness to go after top tech executives, holding them personally liable for the behavior of platform users. In 2023, France made it a crime to provide an online platform that allows organized groups to make illicit transactions. French police used the law in 2024 to briefly detain and charge Pavel Durov, the founder of the Telegram messaging app. That investigation continues. On Tuesday, Durov came to Musk's defense. "France is the only country in the world that is criminally persecuting all social networks that give people some degree of freedom," he said on social media. "Don't be mistaken: this is not a free country." Sarah B. Rogers, the State Department's undersecretary for public diplomacy, suggested last month that European financial penalties on U.S. tech companies were a "de facto tax" intended to raise revenue. While it was "undisputed that Europeans get to have their own laws in Europe," she said the Trump administration was "not willing to give up American freedom of speech in the bargain." Éric Bothorel, a centrist French lawmaker who has led calls to investigate X, praised the prosecutors' moves Tuesday, saying on social media: "In Europe, and particularly in France, the rule of law means that 'no one is above the law.' " Beccuau said her "investigation is being conducted in a constructive manner, with a focus on collaboration with the individuals and companies involved." She added that her office's "ultimate goal is to ensure that X complies with French law." The prosecutor's office posted the statement on X, adding that it would no longer post on the platform.

Factbox-Why Are French Prosecutors Investigating Elon Musk's X

PARIS, Feb 3 (Reuters) - French prosecutors said on Tuesday they were widening an investigation into Elon Musk's social media platform X and that they have summoned the tech billionaire ⁠for questioning in April. A probe into alleged abuse of algorithms and fraudulent data extraction was launched in January 2025. That has now been expanded following complaints over X's AI chatbot Grok, they said. Here ⁠are the potential crimes the Paris prosecutor says it is now investigating: (Reporting by Dominique Patton; editing by Richard Lough)

Paris Prosecutors Raid X Office, Summon Elon Musk For Questioning

PARIS, Feb 3 (Reuters) - French police raided the offices of Elon Musk's social media network X on Tuesday, and prosecutors ordered the tech billionaire to face questions in April related to a widening investigation into the platform, the Paris prosecutor's office said. The raid is linked to a year-long investigation into suspected abuse of algorithms and fraudulent data extraction by X or its executives. However, in a statement the Paris Prosecutor's office said it was widening that investigation following complaints over the functioning of X's artificial intelligence chatbot Grok. The probe will now also investigate alleged complicity in the detention and diffusion of images of a child-pornographic nature and the violation of a person's image rights with sexually explicit deepfakes, among other potential crimes. Musk, and former CEO Linda Yaccarino, are summoned to a hearing on April 20. Other X staff are also summoned as witnesses. There was no immediate comment from X. In July, Musk denied the initial accusations and said French prosecutors were launching a "politically-motivated criminal investigation". "At this stage, the conduct of this investigation is part of a constructive approach, with the aim of ultimately ensuring that the X platform complies with French laws, insofar as it operates on national territory," the prosecutor's office said. The prosecutor's cybercrime unit is conducting the investigation together with the French police's own cybercrime unit and Europol. The Paris prosecutor's office said it launched the investigation after being contacted by a lawmaker alleging that biased algorithms in X were likely to have distorted the operation of an automated data processing system. The prosecutor's office also said it was leaving the X social media platform and would communicate on LinkedIn and Instagram from now on. LinkedIn belongs to Microsoft and Instagram to Meta. (Reporting by Inti Landauro and Sudip Kar-Gupta; Writing by Ingrid Melander; Editing by Alex Richardson)

Why did French police raid X's Paris office and when have they summoned Elon Musk

French authorities have raided the Paris offices of Elon Musk-owned social media platform X, formerly Twitter, as part of an expanding criminal investigation. French authorities have carried out a raid on the Paris office of Elon Musk-owned social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, intensifying a widening criminal investigation into alleged violations ranging from unlawful data extraction to the dissemination of illegal content. The operation, conducted by the Paris prosecutor's cyber-crime unit, marks a significant escalation in a probe that was first opened in January 2025. Officials confirmed that Europol assisted in the raid, underscoring the cross-border dimensions of the case. According to the Paris prosecutor's office, the investigation initially focused on concerns related to X's recommendation algorithms, following complaints that the platform may have facilitated manipulation, bias, or misuse. Over time, the inquiry expanded to include the platform's artificial intelligence chatbot, Grok, developed by Musk's xAI venture. Authorities are examining multiple alleged offences, including illegal data harvesting by an "organised group," failures linked to child protection, and the circulation of non-consensual sexualised images generated using AI tools. The raid on X's local office allowed investigators to gather documents, internal data and testimony as part of the expanding probe. French prosecutors have outlined several areas of concern: Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau confirmed that the scope of the investigation was broadened after multiple reports flagged Grok-generated content, including Holocaust denial narratives and explicit AI-altered imagery. As part of the inquiry, French authorities have formally summoned Elon Musk and former X chief executive Linda Yaccarino to appear at hearings in Paris in April. Several X employees are also expected to be questioned as witnesses. X has consistently rejected the allegations, describing the investigation as politically motivated and framing it as an attack on free expression. The company has argued that it complies with applicable laws and maintains safeguards against misuse. The raid prompted reactions from figures within the global tech community. Telegram founder Pavel Durov, who himself was detained by French authorities in 2024, criticised the move, claiming France was criminally targeting platforms that offer greater freedom of expression. In a related step, the Paris prosecutor's office announced it would permanently leave X, shifting official communications to LinkedIn and Instagram. The X office raided episode unfolds amid rising friction between European regulators and US-based technology firms. Authorities across Europe have tightened scrutiny under frameworks such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the Digital Services Act, focusing on AI safety, algorithmic transparency and data protection. Musk has repeatedly criticised these regulations as excessive, warning they could stifle innovation. The regulatory standoff has also spilled into diplomatic territory. In December 2025, the United States denied visas to several European officials, including former EU internal market commissioner Thierry Breton, fuelling accusations of political retaliation. As investigations continue, the case against X is being closely watched as a potential test of how far European governments are willing to go in enforcing digital accountability on major social media platforms. As the owner of X, Musk has been formally summoned to appear at hearings in Paris in April. Grok is X's AI chatbot, accused of generating sexualised deepfakes and controversial content, prompting regulatory concern.

Paris cybercrime unit searches X office; Musk summoned

French police raided the offices of Elon Musk's social media network X on Tuesday, and prosecutors ordered the tech billionaire to face questions in a widening investigation, amid growing scrutiny of the platform by authorities across Europe. The raid by the Paris prosecutor's cybercrime unit and Musk's summoning -- which could further increase tensions between Europe and the U.S. over Big Tech and free speech -- are linked to a yearlong investigation into suspected abuse of algorithms and fraudulent data extraction by ⁠X or its executives. Britain's privacy watchdog, meanwhile, also kicked off a formal investigation into Musk's artificial-intelligence chatbot Grok over the processing of personal data and its potential to produce harmful sexual images and video content.

Elon Musk's X Offices Raided in Paris as Grok Investigation Intensifies

French police raided the Paris offices of Elon Musk's social media platform, X, on Tuesday. This action escalates a criminal investigation into the Grok AI chatbot, which is allegedly involved in producing explicit images involving minors. According to a report by Reuters, the search was conducted by France's cybercrime unit in coordination with Europol. Authorities are examining whether Grok was used to generate and distribute illegal content, including explicit deepfakes and Holocaust denial. Unraveling The Controversy Surrounding Grok AI The investigation into Grok AI began last month due to a rise in explicit deepfakes, including those involving children. This follows an earlier inquiry into Grok's antisemitic outputs last summer. Prosecutors are now looking into allegations that the tool aided the spread of child abuse material and Holocaust-denial content. Musk and former X chief executive Linda Yaccarino have been summoned for "voluntary interviews" scheduled for April 20. As reported by the outlet, X has not yet released a statement regarding the raid. How Will This Raid Impact X's Future? The raid and ongoing investigations could have significant implications for X's operations in France and potentially across the European Union. Compliance with local laws is crucial for the platform's continued presence in the region. The involvement of Europol highlights the seriousness of the allegations and the potential for broader international scrutiny. The outcome of these investigations might influence regulatory approaches toward AI technologies globally. Photo: Shutterstock This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors. Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs

French police raid X offices as prosecutors summon Elon Musk for questioning

French police raided the offices of Elon Musk's social media network X on Tuesday, and prosecutors ordered the tech billionaire to appear in April to face questions amid a widening investigation, amid growing scrutiny of the platform by authorities across Europe. France's raid and the summoning of Musk - which could further increase tensions between Europe and the US over big tech and free speech - are linked to a year-long investigation into suspected abuse of algorithms and fraudulent data extraction by X or its executives. Britain's privacy watchdog, meanwhile, also kicked off a formal investigation into Musk's artificial intelligence chatbot Grok over the processing of personal data and its potential to produce harmful sexualised images and video content. Sexually explicit deepfakes In a statement, the Paris prosecutor's office said it had broadened the scope of its investigation following complaints over the functioning of Grok. The French probe will now also investigate alleged complicity in the "detention and diffusion" of images of a child‑pornographic nature and the violation of a person's image rights with sexually explicit deepfakes, among other potential crimes. Musk and former CEO Linda Yaccarino were summoned to a hearing on April 20. Other X staff were also summoned as witnesses. There was no immediate comment from X. In July, Musk denied the initial accusations and said French prosecutors were launching a "politically-motivated criminal investigation." "At this stage, the conduct of this investigation is part of a constructive approach, with the aim of ultimately ensuring that the X platform complies with French laws, insofar as it operates on national territory," the prosecutor's office said. Such summons are mandatory, though they are harder to enforce on people who do not live in France. After such a hearing, authorities can decide to either shelve or continue the probe, and potentially put suspects in custody. Probes into X Britain's Information Commissioner's Office, meanwhile, said it was investigating the xAI chatbot, following reports that Grok had been used to generate non‑consensual sexual imagery of individuals, including children. Britain's media regulator Ofcom said separately it was setting out the next steps in its investigation into X, which was launched last month, though it provided few details. Ofcom is seeking to assess if the company has done enough to mitigate the risk of sexual deepfakes spreading on its social media platform. But it has said it was not investigating xAI, which operates the Grok chatbot, as it falls beyond the scope of current law. Last week, the European Union launched an investigation into X, too, seeking to assess whether it disseminated illegal content, following public outcry over the spreading of manipulated sexualised images by Grok. The chatbot continues to generate sexualised images of people even when users explicitly warn that the subjects do not consent, Reuters has found. xAI put some restrictions on Grok's image generation function in response to the backlash last month. Prosecutor's office leaving X The Paris prosecutor's cybercrime unit is conducting the investigation in France, together with the French police's own cybercrime unit and Europol. The unit previously arrested Telegram founder Pavel Durov in 2024 over charges including complicity in organized crime carried out on the messaging app, charges his lawyer has described as "absurd." The prosecutor's office said it launched the investigation after being contacted by a lawmaker who alleged that biased algorithms on X were likely to have distorted the operation of an automated data-processing system. "Glad to see that my complaint from January 2025 is yielding results!" that lawmaker, Eric Bothorel, said on X. "In Europe, and particularly in France, the Rule of Law means that no one is above the law." The prosecutor's office also said it was leaving the X social media platform and would communicate on LinkedIn and Instagram from now on. LinkedIn belongs to Microsoft MSFT.O and Instagram to Meta META.O.

Paris Prosecutor Summons Elon Musk After Raid on X's French Headquarters

Berlin Adds Chinese Animation 'Light Pillar' to Perspectives Lineup French prosecutors on Tuesday raided the Paris offices of Elon Musk's social media platform X and summoned the tech billionaire and the company's former chief executive, Linda Yaccarino, for questioning as part of a widening investigation into alleged cybercrime and the dissemination of illegal content. In a statement posted on X, the Paris prosecutor's office said the search was being carried out by its cybercrime unit alongside France's national police cyber division and Europol, Europe's central crime intelligence agency. The prosecutor's office added that it would cease publishing updates on the platform. The statement says Musk and Yaccarino have been summoned for "voluntary questioning" in April in their capacities as the "de facto and de jure managers of X at the time of the alleged offenses." Yaccarino stepped down as X's chief executive in July last year. Despite being described as voluntary, such summonses are mandatory under French law, though they can prove challenging to enforce for individuals, like Musk and Yaccarino, who are based outside the country. French employees of X have also been summoned to testify as witnesses during hearings scheduled to run from April 20 to 24. The raid is part of an investigation launched in January 2025 following a complaint filed by center-right French lawmaker Éric Bothorel. Bothorel alleged that following Musk's acquisition of the company in 2022, changes to X's algorithms distorted the platform's automated data processing systems, making X more biased, reducing the diversity of voices on the service, and amplifying extreme or harmful political content. Prosecutors said the scope of the investigation has since expanded to include complaints related to X's artificial intelligence tool, Grok. The AI tool has come underfire for alleged complicity in the creation and distribution of child sexual abuse material, violations of image rights through sexualized deepfakes, and its alleged use in creating Holocaust denial content. In France, as in many European countries, Holocaust denial is a crime. The European Union has opened a separate investigation into Grok's role in the production and dissemination of such material. The Paris prosecutor's office said the goal of the investigation was to ensure that X complies with French law while operating on national territory. X said last summer that it did not intend to comply with what it described as "politically motivated" demands from French prosecutors, denying all allegations. The company has said the investigation distorted French law to advance a political agenda and restrict free speech, adding that it would defend its rights, protect user data, and resist political censorship. Europol said it was supporting the inquiry through its European Cybercrime Centre and had deployed a specialist to Paris. The investigation concerns a range of suspected criminal offenses linked to the functioning and use of the platform, including the dissemination of illegal content, Europol said, adding that it stands ready to continue assisting French authorities as the case progresses. The French action comes amid a broader hardening of European attitudes toward social media platforms, with several governments weighing tighter restrictions and accountability measures, particularly around child protection and harmful online content. French lawmakers last week passed a bill to ban social media use for under-15s, following a similar move by Australia. Other European countries, including Greece and Spain, are reportedly considering a similar national ban.

French prosecutors raid Elon Musk's X offices as part of probe into...

French prosecutors raided the offices of Elon Musk's social media platform X on Tuesday as part of a preliminary investigation into a range of alleged offenses, including spreading child sexual abuse images and deepfakes. The investigation was opened in January last year by the prosecutors' cybercrime unit, the Paris prosecutors' office said in a statement. It's looking into alleged "complicity" in possessing and spreading pornographic images of minors, sexually explicit deepfakes, denial of crimes against humanity and manipulation of an automated data processing system as part of an organized group, among other charges. Prosecutors also asked Elon Musk and former CEO Linda Yaccarino to attend "voluntary interviews" on April 20. Employees of X have also been summoned that same week to be heard as witnesses, the statement said. Yaccarino was CEO from May 2023 until July 2025. A spokesperson for X did not respond to a request for comment. In a message posted on X, the Paris prosecutors' office announced the ongoing searches at the company's offices in France and said it was leaving the platform while calling on followers to join it on other social media. "At this stage, the conduct of the investigation is based on a constructive approach, with the aim of ultimately ensuring that the X platform complies with French law, as it operates on the national territory," the prosecutors' statement said. European Union police agency Europol ''is supporting the French authorities in this,'' Europol spokesperson Jan Op Gen Oorth told The Associated Press, without elaborating. The investigation was first opened following reports by a French lawmaker alleging that biased algorithms on X were likely to have distorted the functioning of an automated data processing system. It was later expanded after Musk's artificial intelligence chatbot Grok generated posts that allegedly denied the Holocaust and spread sexually explicit deepfakes, the statement said. Holocaust denial is a crime in France. Grok wrote in a widely shared post in French that gas chambers at the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp were designed for "disinfection with Zyklon B against typhus" rather than for mass murder -- language long associated with Holocaust denial. Musk's artificial intelligence company built xAI and it is integrated into his X platform. In later posts on its X account, the chatbot acknowledged that its earlier reply was wrong, said it had been deleted and pointed to historical evidence that Zyklon B in Auschwitz gas chambers was used to kill more than 1 million people. Grok has a history of making antisemitic comments. Musk's company took down posts from the chatbot that appeared to praise Adolf Hitler after complaints. X is also under pressure from the EU. The 27-nation bloc's executive arm opened an investigation last month after Grok spewed nonconsensual sexualized deepfake images on the platform. Brussels has already hit X with a 120-million euro (then-$140 million) fine for shortcomings under the bloc's sweeping digital regulations, including blue checkmarks that broke the rules on "deceptive design practices" that risked exposing users to scams and manipulation.

France summons Elon Musk, raids X's offices in deepfake probe - VnExpress International

The search came as both Britain and the European Union have opened investigations into the creation of sexualized deepfakes of women and children by Musk's AI chatbot Grok. A proposal by Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez to become the latest country to ban social media for under 16s enraged Musk who on Tuesday called Sanchez "a tyrant and traitor" to Spain's people. French authorities conducted a search on Tuesday at X's French premises as part of an investigation, which began in January 2025, over allegations that X's algorithm was used to interfere in French politics. It now also includes a probe into the Grok AI tool's dissemination of Holocaust denials and sexual deepfakes. EU police agency Europol said it provided an analyst to give on-the-ground support in the search. "The Paris Public Prosecutor's office widely publicized the raid -- making clear that today's action was an abusive act of law enforcement theater designed to achieve illegitimate political objectives rather than advance legitimate law enforcement goals," X's Global Government Affairs team posted on the platform. "The allegations underlying today's raid are baseless and X categorically denies any wrongdoing." The Paris prosecutor's office said that "summons for voluntary interviews on April 20, 2026, in Paris have been sent to Mr Elon Musk and Ms Linda Yaccarino, in their capacity as de facto and de jure managers of the X platform at the time of the events" being investigated. Yaccarino resigned as CEO of X in July last year after two years at the helm of the company. The French probe focuses on alleged offences including complicity in possessing child sexual abuse material and denial of crimes against humanity. X employees have also been summoned to appear between April 20 and 24 "to be heard as witnesses", said Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau, whose office announced in a final message on X it would be leaving the platform. Telegram founder Pavel Durov -- who is under investigation in France over illegal content on his messaging app -- also blasted the raid. "France is the only country in the world that is criminally persecuting all social networks that give people some degree of freedom," the Russian-born entrepreneur wrote on X, naming Telegram, TikTok, and X. 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 denies the allegations. Serious concerns There has been a broader international backlash against Grok after it emerged that users could sexualize images of women and children using simple text prompts such as "put her in a bikini" or "remove her clothes". Britain's data regulator on Tuesday launched investigations into Musk's X and xAI to see whether the companies complied with personal data laws in Grok's generation of sexualized deepfakes. "The reported creation and circulation of such content raises serious concerns under UK data protection law and presents a risk of significant potential harm to the public," the Information Commissioner's Office said in a statement. In January, the European Union also hit X with an investigation over Grok's generation of sexualized deepfake images of women and minors. Politically motivated Paris cybercrime prosecutors called for the police probe in July 2025 to investigate suspected crimes -- including manipulating and extracting data from automated systems "as part of a criminal gang" -- after receiving two complaints in January 2025. One complaint was made by Eric Bothorel, a lawmaker from President Emmanuel Macron's centrist party, who alleged "reduced diversity of voices and options" and "personal interventions" by Musk in the platform's management since he took it over in 2022. Musk has faced criticism for backing right wing parties in Europe, including vocal backing for the far-right Alternative for Germany party.