TEMPO.CO, Jakarta – French prosecutors have raided the offices of social media platform X, owned by billionaire Elon Musk, as part of an initial criminal investigation into alleged illegal content on the platform, including child sexual abuse material and AI-generated deepfakes.
According to a statement from the Paris prosecutor’s office, the search was carried out on Tuesday, February 3, 2026, by its cybercrime unit.
The investigation, which was formally opened in January, is examining X’s alleged involvement in the possession and dissemination of images of child sexual abuse, the circulation of sexually explicit deepfake content, Holocaust denial, and the manipulation of automated data processing systems as part of an organized group.
Prosecutors said they have requested “voluntary interviews” with Elon Musk and Linda Yaccarino, who served as X’s chief executive from 2023 to 2025. The interviews are scheduled for April 20. Several X employees have also been summoned that week to testify as witnesses.
The probe aims to assess whether X complies with French law while operating in the country. Authorities said the scope of the investigation was expanded last year following reports that the platform allowed the non-consensual sharing of sexually explicit AI-generated images and content denying crimes against humanity, including the Holocaust.
An X spokesperson did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Previously, however, X and Musk have dismissed the French investigation, as well as similar probes by the European Union and the United Kingdom, describing them as politically motivated and as attacks on freedom of expression.
The investigation is being led by the Paris prosecutor’s cybercrime unit in coordination with the French police and Europol, the European Union’s law enforcement agency. Europol confirmed it is supporting French authorities but declined to provide further details.
In a post on X, the Paris prosecutor’s office confirmed the search and said the investigation is being conducted “in a constructive approach” to ensure the platform’s compliance with national law.
The case was initially triggered by a report from a French lawmaker who accused X’s algorithm of bias that could distort automated data processing systems.
It later expanded after X’s artificial intelligence chatbot, Grok, generated posts alleged to include Holocaust denial and sexually explicit deepfakes.
Holocaust Denial
Holocaust denial is a criminal offense in France. In one widely shared French-language post, Grok claimed that gas chambers at the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp were intended for disinfection purposes rather than mass murder, a narrative commonly associated with Holocaust denial.
The chatbot later acknowledged the post was incorrect, deleted it, and stated that Zyklon B was used to kill more than one million people at the camp.
Grok has previously drawn criticism for generating antisemitic content. Musk’s AI company, xAI, has removed several Grok posts after public complaints, including content that appeared to praise Adolf Hitler.
Scrutiny of the Grok feature has intensified in recent months. Authorities in the United Kingdom have warned that X could face restrictions if it fails to block AI tools that allow users to digitally alter images of real people, while EU regulators opened a separate investigation into Grok’s image-editing functions in late January.
Despite X’s earlier claims that it had implemented safeguards to prevent non-consensual image manipulation, recent media investigations found that such features remained accessible weeks later.
