French prosecutors have conducted raids at the Paris offices of X, Elon Musk’s social media platform, as part of an investigation launched back in January 2025. According to authorities, the searches were carried out by Parisian and national cybercrime units with support from Interpol. X representatives had not commented on the situation as of this publication.
At the same time, prosecutors in Paris issued summons for voluntary interviews to Elon Musk and X CEO Linda Yaccarino, scheduled for April 20, 2026, in Paris. The authorities also announced they will no longer be using the X platform.
The raids are linked to an ongoing year-long investigation into X’s algorithms. Prosecutors suspect the platform’s algorithms may have “distorted the operation of an automated data processing system.” Earlier reports suggested changes to these algorithms allegedly increased the promotion of specific political content-including Musk’s own posts-without users’ knowledge. Under French law, such actions could qualify as a criminal offense.
The formal investigation began in July 2025, when prosecutors added a charge of “fraudulent extraction of data from an automated data processing system by an organized group.” Later, the case expanded to include allegations of “complicity in possession of images of minor pornography.” This charge relates to AI-generated images produced by Grok between December 25, 2025, and January 1, 2026.
In July, X issued a statement condemning the investigation as a “blatant violation of X’s fundamental right to due process,” warning that it poses a threat to users’ privacy and freedom of speech. The company also denied French authorities’ accusations of algorithm manipulation aimed at “foreign interference,” calling these claims completely false.