French prosecutors raid X's Paris offices, summon Musk and ex-CEO Linda Yaccarino

French law enforcement raided the Paris offices of Elon Musk’s social media company X on Tuesday as authorities expand their probe into suspected wrongdoing on the platform. The move adds to mounting regulatory pressure across Europe.

Paris prosecutors ordered Musk and Linda Yaccarino, who previously served as X’s chief executive, to appear for questioning on April 20. They’ll face inquiries as the people effectively running the platform, according to a statement from the prosecutor’s office. Other employees from X will also be called in.

Lawmakers accused X of hosting and spreading child sexual abuse material. The platform also allegedly carries posts denying crimes against humanity. Investigators are looking into claims of fraudulent data extraction and falsification.

Prosecutor Laure Beccuau said the investigation aims to take “a constructive approach, with the ultimate goal of ensuring that X complies with French law.”

X has drawn scrutiny in France before

Authorities opened an investigation last year into how the platform’s algorithms work, examining possible bias and manipulation. Prosecutors asked for access to the recommendation system and information about user content. X refused, calling it a “politically-motivated criminal investigation.”

The inquiry now includes Grok, an artificial intelligence chatbot owned by X. Regulators in several countries raised concerns after people used it to generate images showing children and women without clothes, then shared those images on X. The women never gave permission.

xAI, the company that owns X, says it turned off the feature letting people create sexualized images of real individuals using Grok. Musk has said the company maintains “zero tolerance” for child sexual abuse material and nude images created without consent. In July, he rejected the initial accusations and described the French investigation as politically driven.

The European Commission launched a separate formal investigation on January 27 into whether X properly handled the Grok controversy. EU tech chief Henna Virkkunen said platforms like X have “very clear obligations” to restrict illegal content. The Commission wants to know how X assessed and reduced risks as Grok became more integrated into its services.

X could face fines up to 6% of its worldwide annual revenue if it violated the Digital Services Act. Virkkunen confirmed the Commission has been talking with X throughout the process, though Musk has publicly criticized EU regulations.

The January probe follows an earlier penalty. In December, the EU fined X 120 million euros, equal to about $140 million, for breaking the bloc’s digital regulations. That marked the first time the EU issued a non-compliance decision under the Digital Services Act.

European regulators said X’s blue checkmarks violated rules against deceptive design practices. Before Musk bought the platform in 2022, the checkmarks were mainly for celebrities, politicians and influential accounts. After the purchase, X started selling them to anyone willing to pay $8 monthly. The Commission said this made it hard for users to judge if accounts were authentic.

X also failed transparency requirements for its advertising database. The platform must provide details about who paid for ads and their target audience, but the database wasn’t searchable or reliable.

The Trump administration pushed back hard against the December fine. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio called it an attack on American tech platforms and the American people. Vice President JD Vance accused the Commission of trying to force X into censorship.

French authorities cut ties with the platform

Cybercrime specialists are handling the French case with police investigators and Europol. The investigation started after a French parliament member contacted prosecutors about concerns that biased algorithms on X were distorting how automated data systems operated.

The Paris prosecutor’s office announced it will no longer use X for official communications. It plans to shift to LinkedIn and Instagram instead. LinkedIn is owned by Microsoft, while Instagram belongs to Meta.

Other X employees called to testify will appear as witnesses. The prosecutor’s office hasn’t said how many staff will be questioned or when those hearings will happen. French authorities say they want platforms operating within the country to follow national laws.

The smartest crypto minds already read our newsletter. Want in? Join them.