Paris prosecutors raid X offices as part of an investigation into child porn, deepfakes and more

PARIS (AP) — The Paris prosecutor’s office said Tuesday that a search was underway at the French offices of Elon Musk’s social media platform

In the statement, it was stated that the investigation was initiated by the prosecutor’s office’s cyber crimes unit in January last year. It is investigating allegations of “complicity” in the detention and dissemination of pornographic images of minors, sexually explicit deepfakes, denial of crimes against humanity and manipulation of an automated data processing system as part of an organized group, and other crimes.

Additionally, prosecutors requested “voluntary interviews” for Elon Musk and Linda Yaccarino, X’s 2023-2025 CEO, scheduled for April 20. In the statement, it was stated that the employees of the X platform were also summoned to be heard as witnesses in the same week in April.

A spokesman for X did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Paris prosecutor’s office confirmed the ongoing searches in a message published on X and stated that he had left the platform, while calling on his followers to join from other social media accounts.

“The conduct of the investigation at this stage is based on a constructive approach with the aim of ensuring that the X platform ultimately complies with French law, since it operates on national territory,” prosecutors said in a statement. he said.

The investigation was first opened following a report by a French legislator alleging that biased algorithms in X had disrupted the functioning of the automated data processing system. The statement stated that this area was expanded following allegations that X’s artificial intelligence chatbot Grok denies the Holocaust and spreads sexual deepfakes.