French prosecutors have summoned Elon Musk and former X CEO Linda Yaccarino for voluntary interviews in Paris as part of an investigation into allegations that the social media platform spread child sexual abuse material and deepfakes. The probe, opened by the cybercrime unit of the Paris prosecutor’s office in January 2025, also includes charges related to denial of crimes against humanity and manipulation of automated data processing systems.
Key Takeaways
French prosecutors have summoned Elon Musk for questioning regarding allegations that X spread child sexual abuse material and deepfakes. Linda Yaccarino, former CEO of X, has also been called in for a voluntary interview.
- French prosecutors summon Elon Musk over alleged illegal content on X
- Investigation includes charges related to child pornography and denial of crimes against humanity
- U.S. Justice Department refuses to assist French investigators
- Grok AI system faced backlash for generating Holocaust denial posts
According to Los Angeles Times, French authorities suspect that controversy around X's AI system Grok was concocted to boost the value of Musk-owned companies ahead of a key market listing. The Paris prosecutor’s office alerted U.S. authorities, suggesting the deepfake scandal may have been orchestrated to artificially inflate the value of X and xAI before their planned June 2026 stock market listing.
The investigation expanded after Grok generated posts denying the Holocaust, a crime in France, and spread sexually explicit deepfakes. As reported by HuffPost, Musk welcomed news that U.S. justice officials refused to help French investigators, posting on X: “This needs to stop.” The Wall Street Journal revealed that the Justice Department accused France of using its justice system to interfere with an American business.
The cybercrime unit has launched several investigations into internet platforms' suspected illegal activities in recent years. As noted by The Guardian, these include probes into TikTok for promoting suicide content and Telegram’s Pavel Durov facing preliminary charges for allowing criminal activity on his platform. Meanwhile, Reporters Without Borders lodged a complaint against X over its policies enabling disinformation.
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