The Paris prosecutor's office announced on May 7 that it has opened a judicial investigation into social media platform X and its owner Elon Musk, accusing them of conspiring to possess and distribute child sexual abuse images, producing sexual deepfake content, spreading disinformation, and denying crimes against humanity. The investigation was initiated by the Paris prosecutor's cybercrime unit in January 2025, and X's offices in France were searched in February. Musk was summoned to Paris for questioning in April, and the prosecutor stressed that the investigation will continue even if he is absent.
The charges cover multiple serious offenses: in addition to crimes related to child sexual abuse images, they include illegal collection of personal data, systematic dissemination of sexual deepfake content, and allegations that X's AI system Grok engaged in "organized manipulation of automated data processing systems." The Paris prosecutor's office stated in a press release that the controversy surrounding Grok's generated sexual deepfakes may not be a simple case of technical failure, but rather a deliberately orchestrated marketing tactic to boost the value of X and xAI. The prosecutor has notified the U.S. Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission about the case since March, arguing that the behavior could constitute a criminal offense.
