Overview
- France’s cybercrime unit, working with Europol, searched X France’s Paris office on February 3 to examine the platform’s algorithms and Grok-linked sexualized deepfakes, including images involving minors.
- Elon Musk and former CEO Linda Yaccarino have been called for non-custodial interviews on April 20, with additional X employees to appear as witnesses between April 20 and 24.
- The Paris prosecutor’s office says the investigation now aims to secure compliance with national rules rather than impose immediate punitive measures.
- The inquiry began in January 2025 after a complaint by MP Éric Bothorel over algorithm changes and was expanded in January 2026 following new parliamentary filings and analyses citing large volumes of non-consensual images attributed to Grok, including those of minors.
- Related probes have been opened by the European Commission and the UK Information Commissioner, while jurisdictional complexities persist because X’s legal entity is based in Ireland and the French unit handles communications.