The Paris prosecutor's office said Musk and Yaccarino have been invited in their capacities as managers of X at the time of the events investigated. French authorities opened their investigation after reports from a French lawmaker alleging that biased algorithms on X likely distorted the functioning of an automated data processing system. The investigation expanded after the platform's AI system, Grok, generated posts that allegedly denied the Holocaust, a crime in France, and spread sexually explicit deepfakes.
The probe is 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, among other charges. Grok, which was built by xAI and is available through X, sparked global outrage this year after it pumped out a torrent of sexualized nonconsensual deepfake images in response to requests from X users. In one widely shared post in French, Grok wrote that gas chambers at the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp were designed for 'disinfection with Zyklon B against typhus' rather than for mass murder — language long associated with Holocaust denial.
These voluntary interviews with the executives are intended to allow them to present their position regarding the facts and, where appropriate, the compliance measures they plan to implement. At this stage, the conduct of this investigation is part of a constructive approach, with the ultimate objective of ensuring that platform X complies with French law, insofar as it operates within the national territory.
In later posts on X, the chatbot reversed itself and acknowledged that its earlier reply was wrong, saying it had been deleted, and pointed to historical evidence that Zyklon B was used to kill more than 1 million people in Auschwitz gas chambers. Musk was summoned after a search took place in February at the French premises of X as part of an investigation opened in January 2025 by the cybercrime unit of the Paris prosecutor's office. Yaccarino was CEO of X from May 2023 until July 2025.
It remains unclear whether Musk and Yaccarino will travel to Paris for the interviews. A spokesperson for X did not respond to questions from The Associated Press, and Yaccarino's current company, eMed, did not answer a request sent to the press email. Other employees of X are scheduled to be heard as witnesses throughout this week.