Paris prosecutor’s cybercrime unit raids X’s French office; Musk and ex-CEO summoned

Paris prosecutors have summoned X chairman Elon Musk and former chief executive Linda Yaccarino for questioning in April as part of their probe into the X social media network, they said on Tuesday.

French prosecutors say a search is under way at the Paris offices of X as part of an investigation opened in January 2025.

The prosecutor’s office said the operation is being carried out by its cybercrime unit, with the involvement of Europol, the European Union’s law enforcement body that supports cross-border investigations into serious crime, including cybercrime, as well as the French police’s national cybercrime unit.

There was no immediate comment from X.

According to the prosecutor’s office, the probe was launched after a lawmaker raised concerns that biased algorithms on the social media platform may have distorted the functioning of an automated data processing system.

X has previously come under scrutiny from European authorities over content moderation, data protection and the operation of its algorithms, including under the EU’s Digital Services Act, although earlier cases focused on regulatory compliance rather than criminal procedures.

In a separate statement, the Paris prosecutor’s office said it will no longer use X to communicate and will instead publish updates on LinkedIn and Instagram.

The investigation remains ongoing.

UK watchdog opens investigation into Grok

Britain’s privacy regulator has launched a formal investigation into Elon Musk’s xAI chatbot Grok, examining its handling of personal data and the risk that it may generate harmful sexualised images and videos.

The Information Commissioner’s Office said the probe covers xAI and X Internet Unlimited Company, the Dublin-based data controller for X in the European Union or European Economic Area.

The inquiry follows reports that Grok had been used to create non-consensual sexual imagery of individuals, including children.

“The reported creation and circulation of such content raises serious concerns under UK data protection law and presents a risk of significant potential harm to the public,” the ICO said.

Britain’s media regulator Ofcom said it will continue its separate investigation into X as governments and regulators tighten scrutiny of sexually explicit AI-generated content.

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