The world’s richest man and Linda Yaccarino, former X CEO, have been summoned for “voluntary interviews,” while other employees of the platform are scheduled to be heard as witnesses throughout this week, the Paris prosecutor’s office said, News.Az reports. citing foreign media.
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French prosecutors also suspect that controversy around the platform’s AI system Grok’s deepfakes was concocted to boost the value of Musk-owned companies ahead of a key stock market listing, and alerted US authorities.
Mr Musk welcomed a report that US justice officials refused to help French investigators, posting on X, “This needs to stop.”
The buffoonish billionaire 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.
Mr Musk and Ms Yaccarino have been invited in their capacities as managers of X at the time of the events investigated.
“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,” prosecutors said.
“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.”
The Paris prosecutor’s office said Mr Musk and Ms Yaccarino’s potential no-show today “is not an obstacle for investigations to continue.”
French authorities opened their investigation after reports from a French politician alleging that biased algorithms on X likely distorted the functioning of an automated data processing system.
It expanded after the AI system, Grok, generated posts that allegedly denied the Holocaust, a crime in France, and spread sexually explicit deepfakes.
It’s 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 organised group, among other charges.
