French prosecutors have conducted a raid on Elon Musk’s X offices in connection with a child pornography and data investigation

French authorities are conducting searches at X offices as the investigation broadens to include allegations of unlawful data extraction related to an AI chatbot and sexual deepfakes.

The Paris offices of Elon Musk’s social media platform, X, have been raided by the city’s cyber-crime unit, as confirmed by the French prosecutor’s office. This action is part of an investigation into suspected offences, which include unlawful data extraction and complicity in possession of child pornography.

The investigation commenced in January 2025, initially concentrating on content suggested by X’s algorithm, before being broadened to encompass the company’s AI chatbot, Grok.

A statement from the prosecutor’s office indicated, “Both Musk and former X chief executive Linda Yaccarino have been summoned to appear at hearings in April.”

X has not commented yet, but has previously characterized the investigation as “politically-motivated” and an infringement on free speech. The company has also refuted any claims of manipulating its algorithm.

Prosecutors are investigating whether X may have engaged in several offences, including “complicity in possession or organised distribution of images of children of a pornographic nature, infringement of individuals’ image rights through sexual deepfakes, and fraudulent data extraction by an organised group.”

UK authorities are conducting an investigation into sexual deepfakes created by Musk’s AI tool Grok, which frequently utilizes real images of women without their consent. Ofcom characterized the situation as “a matter of urgency,” and the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) announced that it would initiate its own investigation into the handling of personal data concerning Grok.

William Malcom, executive director for regulatory risk & innovation at the ICO, stated, “The reports regarding Grok raise serious concerns about the use of individuals’ personal data to create intimate or sexualised images without their knowledge or consent, and whether adequate safeguards were established to prevent this.”

The European Commission has announced an investigation into X’s parent company, xAI, due to concerns regarding the images and is collaborating with French authorities on the raid of the Paris office.

Pavel Durov, the founder of Telegram, expressed his disapproval of the action by stating on X that France is “the only country in the world that is criminally persecuting all social networks that give people some degree of freedom.” He further emphasized, “Don’t be mistaken: this is not a free country.”

Durov was arrested and detained in France in August 2024 due to alleged moderation failures on Telegram, but he was permitted to leave after the platform implemented operational changes, which included sharing certain user data with authorities.