French prosecutors conducted a search today at the Paris office of X (formerly Twitter) as part of a year-long cybercrime investigation into the platform’s AI assistant, Grok, and its alleged role in disseminating illegal content.
The operation, overseen by the cybercrime section of the Paris prosecutor’s office in coordination with the Gendarmerie’s national cyber unit (UNCyber) and Europol, marks a major escalation in France’s scrutiny of social media platforms operating within its jurisdiction.
The investigation was initiated in January 2025 following two formal reports alleging illegal activity on X. The complaints concerned Grok’s functionality on the platform, which allegedly enabled the spread of Holocaust denial content and sexually explicit deepfakes, some involving minors.
The case targets multiple serious offenses, including:
- Complicity in possession and distribution of child sexual abuse material (CSAM)
- Distribution of sexualized deepfakes
- Holocaust denial (a criminal offense in France)
- Fraudulent extraction and manipulation of data systems
- Operating an illicit online platform as part of an organized group
As part of the investigation, French prosecutors have summoned X’s principal executives at the time of the alleged incidents, Elon Musk and CEO Linda Yaccarino, for voluntary questioning in Paris on April 20, 2026. X employees based in France will also be questioned as witnesses during the same week. While French authorities characterize the current phase as “constructive,” they emphasize the need for X to comply with national laws, given its active presence and user base in France.
X, which was acquired by Elon Musk in 2022 and has since undergone a controversial transformation emphasizing minimal content moderation, integrated Grok, its proprietary AI chatbot, in late 2023. The assistant was embedded into the platform to provide real-time commentary and user interactions, but quickly drew criticism for spreading misinformation, offensive content, and failing to adhere to European content standards.
The raid follows a broader pattern of regulatory pressure in France against platforms seen as undermining legal norms or failing to moderate harmful content. In 2024, Telegram founder Pavel Durov was arrested in France under similar circumstances. In response to today’s news, Durov posted on X, accusing French authorities of systematically targeting platforms that “give people some degree of freedom,” and questioned the country’s democratic integrity.
France has positioned itself at the forefront of digital regulation in Europe, leveraging both domestic law and the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA) to demand accountability from tech firms. If charges are brought against X or its executives, the case could set a precedent for criminal liability tied to the misuse of generative AI tools on global platforms.
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