PARIS, 3 February 2026 — In a dramatic escalation of legal pressure on Elon Musk’s social media empire, French prosecutors and cybercrime authorities today conducted a raid on the Paris offices of X, the global platform formerly known as Twitter.
The search, carried out by the Paris Public Prosecutor’s cybercrime unit with support from national police and Europol, is part of a wide-ranging criminal investigation touching on some of the most sensitive issues in the digital age.
The probe, which dates back to a complaint lodged in January 2025, has expanded into allegations of complicity in distributing child sexual abuse imagery, hosting sexually explicit “deepfakes”, facilitating Holocaust denial, and potentially manipulating automated systems that steer content recommendations.
In a remarkable move, French authorities have also summoned tech magnate Elon Musk and former X chief Linda Yaccarino to appear for voluntary questioning in April, underscoring the seriousness of the inquiry. Other X staff are expected to testify in the coming weeks.
The legal spotlight on X aligns with broader European concerns about online platforms’ accountability for harmful or illegal content, particularly after earlier regulatory actions and investigations into big social media companies’ compliance with EU digital laws.
X has previously challenged French legal efforts, decrying them as politically driven attacks on free speech. Yet today’s raid marks a notable escalation in the standoff between a powerful tech giant and national authorities asserting the rule of law.
As this investigation unfolds, questions about the role of artificial intelligence, content moderation, and the limits of platform responsibility loom large on both sides of the Atlantic.
What Happened
On Tuesday 3 February 2026, the cybercrime unit of the Paris Public Prosecutor’s Office carried out a raid on the French offices of social media company X, previously known as Twitter, which is owned by Elon Musk. The action took place in Paris and is part of a criminal investigation that has been building for over a year.
Why the Raid
French prosecutors are looking into a wide range of serious allegations involving how the platform operates and what kind of content it hosts. Key areas under scrutiny include:
– Possession and dissemination of child sexual abuse imagery
– Deepfake pornography, including content sexualising real people without consent
– Holocaust denial and dissemination of hate content
– Algorithm bias and alleged manipulation of automated data processing.
The investigation began after a complaint from a French lawmaker in 2025 and expanded after concerns were raised about X’s AI chatbot Grok and its behaviour.