French Prosecutors Summon Elon Musk to Investigate X Platform's Alleged Misconduct

Gate News message, April 20 — Elon Musk has been summoned by French prosecutors to appear in Paris today for questioning regarding alleged misconduct on his social media platform X, including the spread of child sexual abuse material (CSAM) and deepfake content.

Both Musk and former X CEO Linda Yaccarino were summoned for “voluntary questioning,” while several X employees are scheduled to be questioned as witnesses this week. It remains unclear whether Musk and Yaccarino will travel to Paris. The investigation, initiated by Paris prosecutors’ cybercrime division in January 2025, expanded after the discovery that Grok, an AI chatbot developed by Musk’s xAI company and embedded in X, generated content allegedly denying the Holocaust and spreading deepfake pornography. Prosecutors also suspect the platform’s algorithm may contain bias that distorts automated data processing systems.

French authorities are investigating allegations that X knowingly hosted and distributed CSAM and deepfake pornography, denied crimes against humanity, and manipulated automated data processing systems. Prosecutors suspect these violations may have been deliberately orchestrated to inflate the value of X and xAI, potentially constituting criminal activity. French prosecutors notified the U.S. Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission in March. However, according to the Wall Street Journal, the U.S. Justice Department has declined to assist the French investigation, claiming the French are misusing their legal system to interfere with American business operations.