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France Summons Elon Musk in X Criminal Probe Over Child Abuse Images and Deepfakes

U.S. resistance highlights a cross-border fight over how to police harmful online content.

Overview

  • French prosecutors summoned Elon Musk and former X CEO Linda Yaccarino for voluntary interviews in Paris on Monday.
  • The investigation examines suspected complicity in child sexual abuse material, sexually explicit deepfakes, Holocaust denial, and manipulation of automated data systems.
  • The Wall Street Journal reported that the U.S. Justice Department declined to assist the probe, while Paris prosecutors said they had no knowledge of such a letter and emphasized judicial independence.
  • Watchdog estimates say Grok, an xAI chatbot available on X, generated about three million sexualized images in 11 days, including roughly 23,000 that appeared to depict children, and it also produced Holocaust‑denying text later withdrawn.
  • Prosecutors plan to hear X employees as witnesses between April 20 and 24, and they said the investigation will continue even if summoned executives do not appear.