France goes after Musk's X for ‘algorithm manipulation’ criminal investigation

Elon Musk’s social platform X is now under criminal investigation in France, following accusations of algorithmic manipulation and unauthorized data scraping.

The announcement came from the company itself, which confirmed on Monday that French authorities had formally requested full access to its content-ranking system, along with data tied to every user post.

According to information provided by X, the company is refusing to comply and says it still doesn’t know the exact details of the charges.

X claims the case is politically charged and said in its statement, “We remain in the dark about the specific allegations,” while adding, “We have not acceded to the French authorities’ demands.” X added:

“X remains in the dark as to the specific allegations made against the platform. However, based on what we know so far, X believes that this investigation is distorting French law in order to serve a political agenda and, ultimately, restrict free speech.”

France hasn’t publicly responded to the refusal yet, but the legal action itself points to escalating pressure in Europe on Elon’s tech empire.

France piles on bruise rumors, drug denials, and Trump fallout

When Elon showed up to his final meeting at the White House on May 30, it wasn’t his usual ego or a SpaceX update that caught attention; it was the bruise under his eye. It took a full 40 minutes before anyone at the Oval Office meeting asked about it.

Elon’s explanation: “I said, ‘Go ahead, punch me in the face,’ and he did,” referring to his 5-year-old son, also named X. “I didn’t really feel much at the time. And then I guess it bruises up.”

That same day, The New York Times ran a story claiming that people around Elon were worried his erratic behavior was linked to psychedelic drug use. The report cited anonymous claims which Elon denied outright. But the image of him showing up to the most powerful office in the world with a bruised face, following a story questioning his stability, didn’t exactly calm concerns.

The bruise wasn’t the only thing Elon was carrying out of Washington. His relationship with President Donald Trump, which once looked like an unbreakable alliance, went through a nasty, public breakup.

Elon had also started showing up in Trump’s inner circle wearing a hat that read, “Trump was right about everything!” He tweeted in February, “I love @realdonaldtrump as much as a straight man can love another man.” He bragged nonstop about slashing government spending, even as voters started turning on those cuts. That’s when cracks began to form.

However, during the honeymoon phase, advertisers who’d stopped working with X due to Elon’s antisemitic posts returned. SpaceX won government licenses. His net worth soared to $360 billion, boosted by Tesla, SpaceX, and his AI venture, xAI.

Everything was going up. But now? Not so much. Tesla’s stock has been falling, Trump and Elon are throwing public shots at each other, and some of Elon’s biggest investors are hinting that it might be time for the board to get involved.

Now with the France investigation piling on, his businesses are looking more exposed than ever. Elon is rich on paper but cash poor, and heavily dependent on his companies staying in investors’ good graces. But those companies are financially tied together. If one drops, they all feel it. And Trump has plenty of ways to go after Elon if he wants; through military contracts, government funding, or regulatory firepower.

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