Tech billionaire Elon Musk said the search at his social media platform X offices in Paris on Tuesday by French authorities was a "political attack".
He made the comment in response to a statement from X's Global Government Affairs which said the raid was "in connection with a politicised criminal investigation into alleged manipulation of algorithms and purported fraudulent data extraction."
“We are disappointed by this development, but we are not surprised,” the statement said.
"The Paris Public Prosecutor's Office is plainly attempting to exert pressure on X's senior management in the United States by targeting our French entity and employees, who are not the focus of this investigation," it said.
"The Prosecutor's Office has ignored the established procedural mechanisms to obtain evidence in compliance with international treaties and X’s rights to defend itself," it added.
The statement comes after French police raided the offices of Elon Musk's social media network X on Tuesday and prosecutors ordered the tech billionaire to face questions in a widening investigation, amid growing scrutiny of the platform by authorities across Europe.
The raid by the Paris prosecutor's cybercrime unit and Musk's summoning - which could further increase tensions between Europe and the U.S. over Big Tech and free speech - are linked to a year-long investigation into suspected abuse of algorithms and fraudulent data extraction by X or its executives.
Britain's privacy watchdog, meanwhile, also kicked off a formal investigation into Musk's artificial-intelligence (AI) chatbot Grok over the processing of personal data and its potential to produce harmful sexualised images and video content.
In a statement, the Paris prosecutor's office said it had broadened the scope of its investigation following complaints over the functioning of Grok.
The French probe will now also investigate alleged complicity in the "detention and diffusion" of images of a child‑pornographic nature and the violation of a person's image rights with sexually explicit deepfakes, among other potential crimes.
Musk and former CEO Linda Yaccarino were summoned to a hearing on 20 April. Other X staff were also summoned as witnesses.
In July, Musk denied the initial accusations and said French prosecutors were launching a "politically-motivated criminal investigation".
"At this stage, the conduct of this investigation is part of a constructive approach, with the aim of ultimately ensuring that the X platform complies with French laws, insofar as it operates on national territory," the prosecutor's office said.
Such summons are mandatory, though they are harder to enforce on people who do not live in France.
After such a hearing, authorities can decide to either shelve or continue the probe, and potentially place suspects in custody.
Britain's Information Commissioner's Office, meanwhile, said it was investigating the xAI chatbot, following reports that Grok had been used to generate non‑consensual sexual imagery of individuals, including children.
Britain's media regulator Ofcom said separately it was setting out the next steps in its investigation into X launched last month, though it provided few details.
Ofcom is seeking to assess if the company has done enough to mitigate the risk of sexual deepfakes spreading on its social media platform. But it has said it was not investigating xAI, which operates the Grok chatbot, as it falls beyond the scope of current law.
The European Union launched an investigation last week into X too, seeking to assess whether it disseminated illegal content, following a public outcry over the spreading of manipulated sexualized images by Grok.
The chatbot continues to generate sexualised images of people even when users explicitly warn that the subjects do not consent, Reuters has found.
xAI put some restrictions on Grok's image-generation function in response to the backlash last month.
The Paris prosecutor's cybercrime unit is conducting the investigation in France, together with the French police's own cybercrime unit and Europol. The unit previously arrested Telegram founder Pavel Durov in 2024 over charges including complicity in organised crime carried out on the messaging app, charges his lawyer has described as "absurd".
The prosecutor's office said it launched the investigation after being contacted by a lawmaker alleging that biased algorithms in X were likely to have distorted the operation of an automated data processing system.
"Glad to see that my complaint from January 2025 is yielding results!" that lawmaker, Eric Bothorel, said on X.
"In Europe, and particularly in France, the Rule of Law means that no one is above the law," he added.
The prosecutor's office also said it was leaving the X social media platform and would communicate on LinkedIn and Instagram from now on. LinkedIn belongs to Microsoft and Instagram to Meta.
A senior U.S. administration official says a ceasefire agreed with Iran in early April has effectively ended hostilities for an imminent congressio...
The legal team of Myanmar's Aung San Suu Kyi plans to meet the detained former leader this weekend after sh...
Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei warned “foreigners who commit evil” have no place in the Gulf, outlining a “new phas...
The final day of the Youth Forum on United Nations Global Goals 2026 in Istanbul focused on innovation, cooperation and global impact, with young p...
The federal agent injured in the attack at the White House Correspondents' Association dinner was not hit by friendly fire, U.S. President Dona...
The legal team of Myanmar's Aung San Suu Kyi plans to meet the detained former leader this weekend after she was transferred to house arrest in the capital by the military-backed government, a representative said on Friday.
Azerbaijan’s golden double at the 2026 European Wrestling Championship in Tirana, Albania brought “joy” to the entire country, Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev told the victorious athletes at a reception on Thursday (30 April).
China has passed a new law aimed at ensuring its most vulnerable citizens are not left without support.
Tashkent hosted the INMerge Innovation Summit Roadshow, bringing together start-ups, investors and technology leaders to explore the future of Central Asia’s digital economy and regional cooperation.
A report published by Minval Politika has raised new questions over alleged efforts by Luis Moreno Ocampo to shape international pressure against Azerbaijan and influence political dynamics around Armenia.
A Pentagon official provided the first official estimate of the cost of the U.S. war in Iran on Wednesday (29 April), telling lawmakers that $25 billion had so far been spent on the conflict, most of it on munitions. Earlier, Donald Trump said that the U.S. had "militarily defeated" Tehran.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei warned “foreigners who commit evil” have no place in the Gulf, outlining a “new phase” for the Strait of Hormuz, while a senior adviser said U.S. blockade efforts would fail and could trigger confrontation.
Shares in Meta Platforms fell sharply in extended trading on Wednesday after the tech giant raised its annual capital spending forecast by billions of dollars.
A humanoid robot called Sophia took an unusual place at the heart of a classical concert in Hong Kong on Wednesday (29 April), as she performed alongside a live orchestra for the first time.
The legal team of Myanmar's Aung San Suu Kyi plans to meet the detained former leader this weekend after she was transferred to house arrest in the capital by the military-backed government, a representative said on Friday.
The federal agent injured in the attack at the White House Correspondents' Association dinner was not hit by friendly fire, U.S. President Donald Trump and the Secret Service Director said on Thursday (30 April).
The United States imposed sanctions on former Democratic Republic of Congo President Joseph Kabila on Thursday, accusing him of supporting Rwanda-backed M23 rebels and fuelling political instability in the country’s troubled east.
Britain's King Charles and Queen Camilla began wrapping up their four-day state visit to the U.S. with a very quick stop at the White House to bid farewell to U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday, having already charmed him at a formal dinner two days prior.
China has passed a new law aimed at ensuring its most vulnerable citizens are not left without support.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment