# French investigators search X’s Paris office over allegations tied to algorithmic manipulation
IO Digest Desk
French cybercrime investigators searched the Paris office of X on Tuesday, part of a widening criminal probe that now covers allegations ranging from algorithm manipulation to the spread of child sexual abuse material and sexualised deepfakes.
The search was carried out by the cybercrime unit of the Paris prosecutor’s office, with Europol also involved and support from French police cybercrime specialists, according to the prosecutor’s office and reporting from France 24. The case began in January 2025 after a lawmaker complained that biased algorithms on X may have distorted the operation of an automated data-processing system. Prosecutors say the inquiry has since broadened significantly.
The expanded allegations now include complicity in 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 organised group. France 24 reported that the prosecutor’s office said the search was underway at X’s French offices as part of that investigation.
The move adds a French criminal proceeding to the wider regulatory pressure already building around X and its owner Elon Musk. Britain’s data regulator separately said on Tuesday that it had opened probes into X and xAI to examine whether the companies complied with personal data law in relation to Grok’s generation of sexualised deepfakes. The Information Commissioner’s Office said the reported creation and circulation of such content raised serious concerns under UK data protection law and could cause significant harm, especially where children are involved.
X responded sharply to the French search. Its Global Government Affairs team posted that the raid was an “abusive act of law enforcement theatre” intended to serve political goals rather than legitimate policing. Musk also attacked the French authorities on the platform, calling the search a political attack and saying France should focus on sex criminals.
The Paris prosecutor’s office has not publicly detailed the evidence behind the newest allegations, but the scope of the probe suggests investigators are trying to test whether X’s systems, content moderation and data practices played a role in amplifying unlawful material or enabling misuse at scale. The search also reflects the increasingly international character of legal scrutiny around large social platforms, where algorithm design, data access and AI-generated content are becoming intertwined in criminal and regulatory cases.
The French action comes after the prosecutor’s office said it had sent summonses for voluntary interviews on 20 April 2026 to Musk and former X CEO Linda Yaccarino, in their capacity as de facto and de jure managers of the platform at the time of the events under investigation. Yaccarino resigned as CEO in July last year.
X later said it had left the social platform and would communicate elsewhere, adding that it considered the allegations baseless. The company denied wrongdoing.
For French investigators, the search marks a more direct phase in a case that began with complaints about algorithmic bias and has evolved into a broader inquiry into how the platform handles highly sensitive and potentially criminal content.
