French police raid X offices as they investigate Elon Musk’s social media and AI chatbot Grok.
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French prosecutors raided the offices of social media platform X on Tuesday as part of an initial investigation into allegations that include the distribution of child sexual abuse images and deepfakes. They also called in billionaire Elon Musk to question him.
IX and Musk’s artificial intelligence company xAI are also under scrutiny by Britain’s data privacy regulator, which has launched an official investigation into how the companies handled personal data when they built and used Musk’s artificial intelligence chatbot Grok.
Grok caused global outrage last month after he released a number of sexually explicit images in response to requests from X users. Deepfakes are fakes based on advanced AI, where images, audio or video are digitally altered or fully manipulated by AI.
French police on Tuesday raided the offices of social media platform Elon Musk X and prosecutors ordered the tech billionaire to face questions in April over a widening investigation into the platform, including ‘alleged’ capture and distribution of child sex abuse images and deepfakes.
What is Grok?
Grok was developed by xAI and is available on X, where it encourages users to “ask anything.” Users often ask Grok to verify videos, photos and information in X’s posts, and explain or elaborate on the topics.
Grok’s website describes this tool as “a free AI assistant designed by xAI to augment truth and purpose.” Critics say it’s designed to reflect Musk’s views. Musk has openly talked about “correcting” Grok after he gave answers he didn’t like.
Grok can also be used to create or edit images using the prompts in the search bar found in X, leading to a deep conflict. Reuters found that the chatbot continued to produce human pornography even when users clearly warned that the subjects were not consenting.
On Monday, SpaceX, Musk’s space exploration and rocket business, announced that it had acquired xAI in a deal that would include Grok, X and his satellite communications company Starlink.
Why are the French police investigating?
The French investigation was opened in January last year by the cybercrime prosecutor’s office, the Paris prosecutor’s office said in a statement. The authorities opened an investigation after reports from a French lawyer alleging that X-biased algorithms may have distorted the performance of the automated data processing system.
It widened its investigation after Grok produced posts that allegedly denied the Holocaust – which is a crime in France – and spread sexually explicit language, the statement said.
It is now being considered a “problem” accused of holding and distributing child pornography, unnatural material depicting sex, denial of crimes against humanity and manipulation of an automated data processing system as part of an organized group, among other crimes.
Prosecutors asked Musk and former X CEO Linda Yaccarino to attend “voluntary interviews” on April 20. X employees were called to testify that week, the statement said. Yaccarino was CEO from May 2023 until July 2025.
In a message posted on X, the Paris prosecutor’s office announced an ongoing search of the company’s offices in France and said it was withdrawing from the field.
“At the moment, the conduct of the investigation is based on a constructive approach, with the aim of ensuring that the X stage complies with French law, as it applies to the territory of the country,” said the statement of the prosecutors.
The European Union’s police agency Europol is “supporting the French authorities in this,” Europol spokesman Jan Op Gen Oorth told The Associated Press, without elaborating.
UX, how did Musk respond?
The company responded with a statement released on social media.
“The Paris Public Prosecutor’s Office is clearly trying to put pressure on X’s top management in the United States by targeting our French company and employees, who are not the focus of this investigation,” X said in a statement.
“The Prosecutor’s Office ignored established procedural methods for obtaining evidence consistent with international agreements and X’s rights of self-defense.”
Musk shared a statement, adding, “This is a political attack.”
Law professor Kristen Thomasen says preventing the sharing of unauthorized deepfakes on X may require government legislation, warning that it’s a structural problem that users have limited means of solving.
What other investigation is X facing?
Canada’s privacy commissioner Philippe Dufresne said last month he was expanding the investigation into X following reports that Grok was being used to create and share pornographic images of people without their consent.
Malaysia and Indonesia both temporarily banned Grok last month, but both restrictions have since been lifted. Artificial Intelligence Minister Evan Solomon said last month that Canada was not considering a ban on X — a comment that drew praise from Musk.
In Britain, the Information Commissioner’s Office said it was looking into whether X and xAI followed the law when processing personal data and whether Grok had measures in place to prevent its use to produce “dangerously deceptive images.”
“The reports about Grok raise deeply worrying questions about how personal data has been used to produce intimate or sexual images without their knowledge or consent, and whether the necessary safeguards have been put in place to prevent this,” said William Malcolm, executive director at the watchdog.
A separate investigation into Grok launched last month by the UK media regulator, Ofcom, is ongoing.
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The European Union’s top official opened an investigation last month into pornographic images.
The European Commission has already levied a fine of 120 million euros ($194 million) against X for mistakes under the bloc’s comprehensive digital rules, including changes to the company’s use of blue checkmarks to indicate verified accounts that broke rules on “deceptive design practices” because they risked exposing users to scams and fraud.
