The Paris prosecutor's cybercrime unit has raided the French offices of Elon Musk's X as part of an investigation into suspected unlawful data extraction and possession of child pornography.

Both Musk and former X chief executive Linda Yaccarino are required to appear for hearings in April.

The UK's Information Commissioner's Office is investigating Musk's AI tool, Grok, for its potential to create harmful sexualised content. Musk described the inquiry as a “political attack” on X.

X Blasts French Prosecutors After Raid

The company expressed disappointment, yet not surprise, regarding the situation, accusing the Paris Public Prosecutor's office of acting abusively. X denied any wrongdoing and claimed the raid jeopardised free speech.

Moreover, the investigation started in January 2025 by French prosecutors into content recommended by X's algorithm, which was later expanded in July to encompass Musk's AI chatbot, Grok.

Yaccarino accused French prosecutors of conducting “a political vendetta against Americans” on X, emphasising that “they are lying.” He left the firm last year.

French prosecutors are investigating X for potential legal violations following Tuesday's raid. The inquiry may include crimes such as complicity in the possession or organised distribution of child pornography, infringement of image rights through sexual deepfakes, and fraudulent data extraction by an organised group.

UK Begins New Inquiry

UK authorities have updated their investigation into sexual deepfakes by Grok, which featured images of women created without consent. This generated significant backlash in January from victims, online safety advocates, and politicians.

The company intervened to stop the practice following investigations by Ofcom and others.

Notably, Ofcom is urgent in its ongoing investigation of the platform. However, Grok's case cannot be investigated for the creation of illegal images due to insufficient powers regarding chatbots.

Shortly after, the ICO announced it was launching a probe, along with Ofcom, into the processing of personal data related to Grok.

According to William Malcolm, the ICO's executive director for regulatory risk & innovation, the reports about Grok raise serious concerns regarding the use of personal data to create intimate or sexualised images without individuals' knowledge or consent, as well as the effectiveness of safeguards to prevent such occurrences.

In late January, the European Commission began investigating xAI over concerns regarding images, communicating with France about its search of X's Paris office.

Not a Free Nation

Pavel Durov, founder of Telegram, criticised French authorities for allegedly criminally persecuting social networks that promote freedom, declaring France is “not a free country” in a post on X.

Durov was arrested in France in August 2024 due to alleged moderation failures on his messaging app, which prosecutors claim did not adequately prevent criminal activity.

Eventually, he was allowed to exit the country last March after operational adjustments were made by the platform, including sharing user data with authorities in response to legal requests.

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