French Prosecutors Raid X Office in Paris Over Child Abuse Content and Data Use Allegations

photo credit: BBC

French authorities have raided the Paris offices of Elon Musk–owned social media platform X as part of a widening criminal investigation into alleged offences including unlawful data extraction, algorithmic misconduct, and complicity in the possession and distribution of child sexual abuse material.

The raid was carried out by Paris’ cyber-crime unit, the prosecutor’s office confirmed, as investigators expanded a probe that began in January 2025. The investigation initially focused on content promoted by X’s recommendation algorithm but has since been extended to include the company’s artificial intelligence chatbot, Grok.

In a statement, prosecutors said both Elon Musk and former X chief executive Linda Yaccarino have been summoned to appear before investigators for hearings scheduled in April.

Authorities are examining whether X may have committed several offences, including complicity in the possession or organised distribution of images involving minors, violations of image rights through the creation of sexual deepfakes, and fraudulent extraction of user data by an organised group.

X has not responded to the latest developments but has previously dismissed the investigation as politically motivated, describing it as an attack on free speech. The company has also denied allegations that its algorithm was deliberately manipulated to promote unlawful content.

The case has drawn international attention as regulators in the United Kingdom separately launched investigations into Grok over the generation of sexualised deepfake images, often created using real photographs of women without their consent. UK media regulator Ofcom described the issue as urgent, while the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) confirmed it is probing the processing of personal data linked to the AI tool.

William Malcom, the ICO’s executive director for regulatory risk and innovation, said reports surrounding Grok raised “deeply troubling questions” about whether personal data was used to generate intimate images without consent and whether sufficient safeguards were in place.

The European Commission has also opened an investigation into X’s parent company, xAI, and is coordinating with French authorities in relation to the Paris raid.

Meanwhile, Telegram founder Pavel Durov criticised the action, writing on X that France is “the only country in the world that is criminally persecuting all social networks that give people some degree of freedom.” Durov was arrested in France in August 2024 over alleged content moderation failures on Telegram but was later released after the platform agreed to operational changes, including limited data-sharing with authorities.