French authorities searched the offices of social media platform X in Paris on Tuesday as part of a cybercrime investigation launched in January 2025, according to the Paris public prosecutor’s office.
The inquiry is examining whether X’s algorithm was used to interfere in French political processes. The operation involved Europol, the European Union’s law enforcement agency.
The prosecutor’s office confirmed that Elon Musk and Linda Yaccarino, who were leading the platform during the period under investigation, were summoned for voluntary interviews scheduled for April 20, 2026. Yaccarino stepped down as CEO in July 2025 after serving in the role for two years.
Authorities initiated the probe following two complaints filed in January 2025. One of those came from Member of Parliament Eric Bothorel, who alleged reduced diversity of perspectives on the platform and cited Musk’s direct involvement in content management since his 2022 acquisition of X.
In July 2025, cybercrime prosecutors expanded the investigation to examine reports that X’s AI chatbot, Grok, had spread Holocaust denial content and deepfakes containing sexually explicit images.
X’s France director, Laurent Buanec, defended the company in January 2025, stating that X maintains “strict, clear and public rules” to prevent hate speech and disinformation.
X has denied the allegations and in July called the investigation “politically motivated.” That same month, the U.S. government criticized the probe, referring to it as an act of foreign censorship against American free speech.
Also in late January, the European Union opened a separate investigation into X regarding Grok’s generation of sexualized deepfake content involving women and minors.
The EU action faced criticism from U.S. officials, who argued the bloc’s tech regulations disproportionately affect American companies and restrict speech.
