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Elon Musk has been summoned by French authorities for what prosecutors described as a voluntary interview, as investigators widen a probe into alleged political interference and the spread of sexual deepfakes on his social media platform X.
French prosecutors said officers also searched X’s offices in France on Tuesday as part of an investigation that now stretches beyond politics to include Holocaust denial and sexually explicit deepfake content linked to Musk’s AI chatbot, Grok.
The case has drawn fresh attention across Europe and Britain, where regulators are separately examining how Grok generates sexualised images of women and children.
According to the Paris prosecutor’s office, summonses were sent to Musk and former X chief executive Linda Yaccarino to appear in Paris on April 20, 2026. Both are being questioned in their capacity as managers of the platform during the period under investigation. Yaccarino stepped down in July last year after two years running the company.
Investigators also summoned several X employees to appear as witnesses between April 20 and April 24. Prosecutors said the inquiry covers suspected offences including complicity in the possession of child sexual abuse material and denial of crimes against humanity.
The French probe began in January 2025 after complaints that X’s algorithm had been used to influence political debate in France. Authorities later expanded the scope to include Grok, after reports that the chatbot could be prompted to generate sexualised images and content, including of minors.
France’s cybercrime unit carried out Tuesday’s raid with support from Europol, which said it deployed an analyst to assist local investigators.
X declined to comment on the case. Contacted by AFP, the company’s lawyer, Kami Haeri, said she would not respond to questions.
The investigation has sparked sharp reactions from figures in the tech world. Telegram founder Pavel Durov, who himself is under investigation in France over illegal content on his messaging app, criticised the raid, saying France was targeting platforms that allow open expression.
“France is the only country in the world that is criminally persecuting all social networks that give people some degree of freedom,” Durov wrote on X.
Regulatory pressure is also building elsewhere. Britain’s data watchdog on Tuesday opened its own investigation into whether X and xAI complied with data protection laws when Grok generated sexualised deepfake images. The regulator said such content raises serious concerns and risks significant harm to the public.
The European Union launched a similar probe in January, focusing on Grok’s handling of deepfakes involving women and minors.
The French investigation has also touched on Musk’s political activity since acquiring X in 2022. One of the original complaints came from French lawmaker Eric Bothorel, who accused the platform of narrowing the diversity of views and pointed to Musk’s direct involvement in its management.
Musk has previously drawn criticism in Europe for publicly backing the far right Alternative for Germany party.
X has denied all allegations. Last year, the company described the French investigation as politically motivated and said it operates clear and public rules against hate speech and disinformation.
The US government has also weighed in, saying it would defend American companies against what it described as acts of foreign censorship.
