French prosecutors conducted search operations at the offices of social media platform X in France on Tuesday, investigating suspected algorithmic abuse and a wide range of other cyber offences allegedly committed by the platform and its executives.

The Prosecutor’s Office of Paris stated that these operations were part of a broader investigation into the alleged use of biased algorithms by X, which may have distorted automated data processing and influenced the presentation of information to users. The investigation also addresses additional criminal offences, including complicity in the possession and dissemination of child pornography involving minors, defamation of a person’s image through sexual deepfakes, and denial of crimes against humanity.

Furthermore, authorities summoned platform owner Elon Musk and former Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Linda Yaccarino to appear at open hearings on April 20, 2026, in their capacities as de facto and de jure managers of X at the time of the events. Employees of the platform were also summoned as witnesses and are expected to appear in court during the week of April 20, 2026. According to the Prosecutor’s Office, these hearings aim to offer the summoned managers an opportunity to clarify their positions regarding the alleged offences and to outline any compliance measures they would implement. The Prosecutor’s Office also announced that it would cease using X for communications, preferring to use LinkedIn and Instagram instead.

The search operations are part of an investigation initiated in January 2025, following reports of suspected algorithmic bias and fraudulent data extraction by X. Following this, the investigation was expanded after additional reports criticized the functioning of X’s Artificial Intelligence (AI) chatbot Grok for disseminating Holocaust denial.

The platform has previously faced similar criminal proceedings in various jurisdictions related to the use of deepfakes, the spread of misinformation, and non-compliance with national legislation. In January 2026, the European Commission launched an investigation into the use of chatbot Grok to generate sexual images of women and girls without their consent. In 2025, Canada’s privacy commissioner initiated a probe into X’s use of citizens’ personal data for AI model training. An Australian court has also fined X for failing to comply with regulatory requests to disclose anti-child-abuse measures.