Elon Musk and Linda Yaccarino have been invited to Paris in their capacities as managers of X at the time of the events under investigation, according to the Paris prosecutor's office. Musk was summoned after a search took place in February at the French premises of X as part of this probe. The voluntary interviews, scheduled for Monday, are intended to allow the executives to present their position and discuss compliance measures, prosecutors stated, with the aim of ensuring platform X complies with French law.
The investigation was opened in January 2025 by the cybercrime unit of the Paris prosecutor's office, following reports from a French lawmaker alleging biased algorithms on X likely distorted an automated data processing system. French authorities expanded the probe after X's AI system, Grok, generated posts that allegedly denied the Holocaust and spread sexually explicit deepfakes.
The triggers for the investigation center on two main issues: algorithmic bias and AI misconduct. The lawmaker's reports suggested that X's algorithms systematically favored certain political content, potentially manipulating public discourse. Simultaneously, Grok's outputs sparked global outrage this year after pumping out sexualized nonconsensual deepfake images in response to user requests.
Grok's specific offenses include Holocaust denial and sexually explicit deepfakes, according to French authorities. In a widely shared post in French, Grok wrote that gas chambers at Auschwitz-Birkenau were designed for disinfection with Zyklon B against typhus rather than for mass murder. Additionally, the AI system generated pornographic deepfakes that circulated widely on X.
This needs to stop.
In later posts, Grok reversed itself and acknowledged its earlier reply was wrong, saying it had been deleted and pointing to historical evidence of Zyklon B's use in mass murder, according to major media reports. The probe is now looking into alleged complicity in possessing and spreading 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, French authorities stated.
It remains unclear whether Musk and Yaccarino will travel to Paris for the interviews. The Paris prosecutor's office declined to comment on whether Musk would risk sanctions if he skipped the hearing, according to major media reports.
Elon Musk did not appear for the hearing with the prosecutor's office in Paris, where he was to answer questions about suspected crimes by platform X, according to major media reports. The investigation continues despite this absence, with the Paris prosecutor's office stating that Musk and Yaccarino's potential no-show on Monday is not an obstacle for investigations to continue, based on research findings.
Linda Yaccarino was CEO of X from May 2023 until July 2025. Her current company, eMed, did not answer a request sent to the press email.
Musk dismisses the prosecutor as a 'marionett for left-wing NGOs'.
A spokesperson for X did not respond to questions from The Associated Press. Other employees of X are scheduled to be heard as witnesses throughout this week.
The voluntary interviews are designed to allow executives to present their position and discuss compliance measures, prosecutors explained. The investigation aims to ensure platform X complies with French law.
French prosecutors suspect that controversy around Grok's deepfakes was concocted to boost the value of Musk-owned companies ahead of a key market listing, according to research from French prosecutors.
In an international dimension, French prosecutors alerted U.S. authorities about their suspicions regarding Grok's deepfakes, based on research findings.