French prosecutors have launched a criminal investigation into Elon Musk’s social media platform X.
The investigation is due to an alleged algorithm manipulation and fraudulent data extraction aimed at “foreign interference.
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The probe, led by the Paris Public Prosecutor’s Office and conducted by the French gendarmerie, follows complaints filed in January 2025 by a lawmaker, Éric Bothorel from Emmanuel Macron’s Ensemble party, and an unnamed senior official.
The allegations center on X’s algorithms potentially promoting far-right content, reducing viewpoint diversity, and skewing democratic debate in France.
It was reported that the platform is with specific concerns about hateful, racist, and homophobic content.
The investigation targets two offenses with the first one being organized tampering with automated data processing systems and fraudulent data extraction.
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If found guilty, it could lead to penalties of up to 10 years in prison and €300,000 (~$350,000) in fines under French law.
This follows a preliminary inquiry started in February 2025 and aligns with a separate EU investigation into X for possible Digital Services Act violations, ongoing for nearly two years.
Neither X nor Musk has publicly responded to the allegations as of the latest reports.