French investigators, backed by Europol, searched the Paris offices of Xthe red social property of Elon Musk and with 550 million monthly users in the world, within the framework of an investigation that ranges from alleged algorithmic abuses to some of the most serious harms of the Internet.
The investigation was opened in January 2025after a complaint from the French deputy Eric Bothorel for alleged politically biased content recommendations and for possible illegal collection of personal data in X. The prosecution also claims to be examining the possible complicity of Grokthe platform’s artificial intelligence chatbot, in the creation and dissemination of child sexual abuse materialthe violation of image rights through deepfakes sexually explicit and the dissemination of Holocaust denialist content, illegal conduct in France.
Musk and the former CEO of X, Linda Yaccarino —who left the company in July 2025— have been summoned to declare the April 20along with other staff members who will appear as witnesses. The Paris prosecutor’s office said the case seeks to ensure compliance with French law, calling it a “constructive approach.”
The pressure grows beyond France. The United Kingdom Communications Office (OFCOM), the regulator, opened a data protection investigation into how personal data may have been used to generate sexualized images, after Grok posted waves of non-consensual content.
A recent estimate suggests that they were made in X until three million sexualized images between December 29 and January 8, 2026, including 23 mil that involved minors. OFCOM is also investigating X under the Online Safety Lawwhile the European Commission has launched its own investigation
under the Digital Services Lawwhich is added to previous procedures that already cost X a fine of 120 million euros. This hardening reflects a broader shift in Europe. In a speech in Germany at the end of 2025, the president Emmanuel Macron warned that Europe had been “very naive in ceding our public space to social networks controlled by American or Chinese companies.”“, accusing their algorithms of fueling polarization and hatred. For democracies to survive, he argued, platforms must be regulated like physical public spaces, where neither anonymity nor illegality are tolerated.
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