France raids X offices, summons Elon Musk over political interference claims

French authorities on Tuesday searched the Paris offices of social media platform X and invited its owner, Elon Musk, for questioning, as part of an expanding investigation into whether the platform was used to manipulate political conversations in the country.

In a statement, the Paris public prosecutor’s office said Musk and former X chief executive Linda Yaccarino have been summoned for voluntary interviews scheduled for April 20, 2026. Investigators are examining whether X’s recommendation systems and internal tools were exploited to influence public opinion during key political moments in France.

The operation, carried out with the support of Europol, stems from a cybercrime investigation launched in January 2025 following complaints that the platform enabled unlawful data manipulation and automated system abuse.

Lawmakers raise concerns over platform direction

One of the earliest complaints came from French lawmaker Eric Bothorel, a member of President Emmanuel Macron’s centrist party, who accused X of narrowing the range of political viewpoints visible to users. He also criticised Musk’s direct involvement in product decisions and content moderation since acquiring the platform in 2022.

French prosecutors said those concerns later widened into broader scrutiny of X’s internal systems, particularly how its tools may have amplified harmful or misleading content during politically sensitive periods.

X chatbot adds fresh pressure

The investigation was further expanded after reports linked X’s AI chatbot, Grok, to the spread of Holocaust denial content and sexually explicit deepfake images, including those involving minors, issues that have intensified regulatory attention across Europe.

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X has denied all allegations. In January last year, the company’s France director, Laurent Buanec, said the platform operates under strict, public rules designed to combat hate speech and disinformation.

The probe has also triggered diplomatic friction. The United States government criticised the investigation in July, describing it as an attack on free expression and pledging to defend American companies from what it called foreign censorship.

Meanwhile, the European Union has opened a separate inquiry into Grok’s role in generating harmful deepfake content, adding to growing pressure on X despite Washington’s warnings that European tech regulations unfairly target US firms.