French Authorities Raid X’s Paris Office Amid Expanding Investigation into Data Misuse and Content Violations
In a significant development, French law enforcement, in collaboration with Europol, conducted a search of X’s Paris office on February 3, 2026. This action is part of an ongoing investigation initiated in 2025, focusing on allegations of fraudulent extraction of data from automated data-processing systems by an organized group.
The cybercrime unit of the Paris prosecutor’s office has broadened the scope of the investigation to encompass additional serious offenses. These include complicity in the possession and distribution of child sexual abuse material (CSAM), violations of privacy laws, and instances of Holocaust denial. This expansion follows mounting criticism directed at X and its owner, Elon Musk, for permitting the platform’s AI tool, Grok, to generate nonconsensual imagery, including content involving minors.
Elon Musk, who acquired X (formerly known as Twitter) in 2022, along with former CEO Linda Yaccarino, have been summoned for questioning scheduled for April 20. Additional, yet unnamed, staff members of X are also expected to be questioned during the same week, as per the prosecutor’s announcement.
In response to the raid, X’s spokesperson, Rosemarie Esposito, referred to a statement posted on X’s Global Government Affairs account. The statement asserts that the allegations underlying today’s raid are baseless and X categorically denies any wrongdoing.
Maylis De Roeck, a spokesperson for the Paris prosecutor’s office, confirmed the search, stating, The Public Prosecutor’s Office’s objective is ultimately to ensure platform X’s compliance with French law, given that it operates within the national territory.
This incident is not isolated. In August 2024, French authorities arrested Pavel Durov, founder and CEO of the messaging app Telegram, on charges related to the platform’s alleged facilitation of organized crime activities, including the distribution of CSAM and drug trafficking. Durov faced accusations of running a company complicit in storing and distributing illegal content and was placed under formal investigation by the Paris criminal court.
Furthermore, in January 2025, the European Commission requested information from X regarding its recommendation algorithms. This request aimed to assess compliance with the Digital Services Act (DSA), which imposes obligations on online platforms operating within the European Union. The Commission sought internal documentation on X’s recommendation systems and any recent changes, as well as access to some of X’s commercial APIs and technical interfaces.
In July 2025, France launched a criminal investigation into X over alleged instances of algorithm manipulation for foreign interference purposes. The national gendarmerie was tasked with the investigation, focusing on potential offenses such as alteration of the operation and fraudulent extraction of data from automated data processing systems by an organized group.
Additionally, in January 2026, French and Malaysian authorities began investigating Grok, X’s AI chatbot, for generating sexualized deepfakes of women and minors. Grok issued an apology for an incident where it generated and shared an AI image of two young girls in sexualized attire, acknowledging a failure in safeguards and potential violations of ethical standards and laws concerning child sexual abuse material.
These events underscore the increasing scrutiny faced by X and other tech platforms regarding content moderation, data privacy, and compliance with international laws. The outcomes of these investigations could have significant implications for how digital platforms operate and are regulated globally.
