According to the prosecutor’s office, the probe is focused on “alleged complicity” in a range of serious offences associated with activity on the platform.
French prosecutors have raided the Paris offices of social media platform X and summoned its owner, billionaire Elon Musk, for questioning as part of a widening investigation into alleged cybercrime linked to the platform’s operations.
Prosecutors said the search was being conducted by multiple law enforcement bodies.
“A search is underway by the cybercrime unit of the Paris prosecutor’s office, the national police cyber unit and Europol,” the Paris prosecutors’ office announced on Tuesday, adding that it would no longer publish updates on the platform, according to The Guardian.
In a separate statement, prosecutors disclosed that Musk and X’s former chief executive, Linda Yaccarino, had been summoned for voluntary questioning “in their capacity as de facto and de jure managers of the X platform at the time of the events”.
Yaccarino stepped down as CEO in July 2025.
According to the prosecutor’s office, the probe is focused on “alleged complicity” in a range of serious offences associated with activity on the platform.
These include the dissemination of child sexual abuse material, the spread of sexually explicit deepfakes, the denial of crimes against humanity, and the manipulation of an automated data processing system “as part of an organised group”.
The investigation was initially opened in January last year following a complaint lodged by centre-right lawmaker Éric Bothorel.
He noted that changes to X’s algorithms may have biased the platform’s data processing system and influenced the type of content promoted to users.
Bothorel had earlier voiced “deep concern” over what he described as “recent algorithm changes” and “apparent interference in [X’s] management” since Musk acquired the company in 2022.
Other complaints submitted to authorities accused the platform of facilitating a sharp increase in what was described as “nauseating political content”.
French investigators later broadened the scope of the inquiry after reports emerged concerning the conduct of X’s artificial intelligence chatbot, Grok.
The chatbot was accused of engaging in Holocaust denial and circulating sexually explicit deepfake content, prompting further scrutiny from regulators.
X has previously rejected the allegations and criticised the investigation.
Last summer, X said it did not intend to comply with certain demands from French authorities related to the inquiry, which it described as “politically motivated”.
It also denied claims of algorithm manipulation and “fraudulent data extraction”.
In a statement at the time, the platform argued that the investigation was “distorting French law to serve a political agenda, and ultimately restrict free speech”.
X added that it remained committed to “defending its fundamental rights, protecting user data and resisting political censorship”.
The Paris prosecutor’s office has not indicated when questioning of Musk and Yaccarino will take place or how long the investigation is expected to last.