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French prosecutors raided the Paris offices of social media platform X on Tuesday as part of a preliminary investigation into allegations that include spreading child sexual abuse images and deepfakes. They have also summoned billionaire owner Elon Musk for questioning.
X and Musk’s artificial intelligence company xAI are also under scrutiny from Britain’s data privacy regulator, which kicked off formal investigations into how the companies handled personal data when they developed and deployed Musk’s artificial intelligence chatbot Grok.
Grok sparked global outrage last month after it pumped out a torrent of sexualized nonconsensual deepfake images in response to requests from X users. Deepfakes are manipulations based on advanced AI, where images, audio or video are either digitally altered or fully generated by AI.
French police on Tuesday raided the offices of Elon Musk’s social media network X and prosecutors have ordered the tech billionaire to face questions in April related to a widening investigation into the platform, including alleged ‘complicity’ of possessing and spreading child sexual abuse images and deepfakes.
What is Grok?
Grok was built by xAI and is available on X, where it encourages users to “ask anything.” Users frequently ask Grok to verify videos, images and information in X posts, and to explain or elaborate on subjects.
Grok’s website describes the tool as “a free AI assistant designed by xAI to maximize truth and objectivity.” Critics have said it is programmed to reflect Musk’s views. Musk has openly talked about “fixing” Grok after it gave answers he didn’t like.
Grok can also be used to create or edit images using prompts in the search bar available on X, which led to the deepfake controversy. Reuters has found the chatbot continues to generate sexualized images of people even when users explicitly warn that the subjects do not consent.
On Monday, SpaceX, Musk’s space exploration and rocket business, announced that it had acquired xAI in a deal that will also combine Grok, X and his satellite communication company Starlink.
Why are French police investigating?
The French investigation was opened in January last year by the prosecutors’ cybercrime unit, the Paris prosecutors’ office said in a statement. Authorities opened the investigation after reports from a French lawmaker alleging that biased algorithms on X likely distorted the functioning of an automated data processing system.
It expanded its investigation after Grok generated posts that allegedly denied the Holocaust — a crime in France — and spread sexually explicit deepfakes, the statement said.
It’s now looking into alleged “complicity” in possessing and spreading pornographic images of minors, sexually explicit deepfakes, denial of crimes against humanity and manipulation of an automated data processing system as part of an organized group, among other charges.
Prosecutors asked Musk and former X CEO Linda Yaccarino to attend “voluntary interviews” on April 20. Employees of X were summoned that same week to be heard as witnesses, the statement said. Yaccarino was CEO from May 2023 until July 2025.
In a message posted on X, the Paris prosecutors’ office announced the ongoing searches at the company’s offices in France and said it was leaving the platform.
“At this stage, the conduct of the investigation is based on a constructive approach, with the aim of ultimately ensuring that the X platform complies with French law, as it operates on the national territory,” the prosecutors’ statement said.
European Union police agency Europol “is supporting the French authorities in this,” Europol spokesperson Jan Op Gen Oorth told The Associated Press, without elaborating.
How have X, Musk responded?
The company defended itself in a statement on the social media platform.
“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,” X said in a statement.
“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.”
Musk shared the statement, adding, “This is a political attack.”
Law professor Kristen Thomasen says preventing the sharing of non-consensual deepfakes on X will likely require government legislation, warning it’s a structural issue that users have limited means to solve.
What other investigations is X facing?
Canada’s privacy commissioner Philippe Dufresne said last month he is expanding an investigation into X following reports that Grok was being used to create and share explicit images of people without their consent.
Malaysia and Indonesia both temporarily banned Grok last month, but both bans have since been lifted. Artificial Intelligence Minister Evan Solomon said last month that Canada is not considering a ban on X — a comment that drew praise from Musk.
In Britain, the Information Commissioner’s Office said it’s looking into whether X and xAI followed the law when processing personal data and whether Grok had any measures in place to prevent its use to generate “harmful manipulated images.”
“The reports about Grok raise deeply troubling questions about how people’s personal data has been used to generate intimate or sexualised images without their knowledge or consent, and whether the necessary safeguards were put in place to prevent this,” said William Malcolm, an executive director at the watchdog.
A separate investigation into Grok launched last month by the U.K. media regulator, Ofcom, is ongoing.
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The European Union’s executive arm opened an investigation last month over the nonconsensual sexualized deepfake images.
The European Commission has already levied a fine of €120 million ($194 million Cdn) against X for shortcomings under the bloc’s sweeping digital regulations, including changes to the company’s use of blue checkmarks to indicate verified accounts that broke the rules on “deceptive design practices” because they risked exposing users to scams and manipulation.