FRANCE INVESTIGATES X OVER ALLEGED CONTENT VIOLATIONS, SUMMONS ELON MUSK

By Ezinne Obah

French authorities on Tuesday escalated their investigation into social media platform X, as police searched the company’s offices in France and prosecutors formally summoned its owner, Elon Musk, over allegations linked to illegal content and data practices, that has intensified tensions between Europe and the United States over technology regulation.

The Paris prosecutor’s office said the search was carried out by its cybercrime unit as part of an investigation into multiple alleged violations linked to the platform.In a statement, Paris Chief Prosecutor Laure Beccuau said X is being investigated over seven accusations, including alleged complicity in the distribution of child sexual abuse material, denial of crimes against humanity and the fraudulent extraction of user data.

According to prosecutors, the investigation was initially opened after Éric Bothorel, a centrist French lawmaker, petitioned authorities over concerns surrounding X’s algorithm; the automated system responsible for organising and amplifying content on the platform.

Authorities later expanded the probe following further allegations that Grok, X’s artificial intelligence chatbot, was disseminating Holocaust denial content and sexually explicit deepfake material.

The developments mark a significant escalation in France’s scrutiny of X and come amid broader European efforts to enforce stricter digital content and data protection rules on major technology companies.

The case has also fuelled a wider trans-Atlantic dispute over the regulation of social media platforms and artificial intelligence, with U.S.-based tech firms increasingly facing regulatory pressure from European government