A French cybercrime unit raided the offices of X in Paris on Tuesday as part of the Paris Public Prosecutor’s Office’s investigation into alleged manipulation of algorithms and purported fraudulent data extraction by X and its artificial intelligence chatbot, Grok.
Prosecutors have called on X owner Elon Musk and former CEO Linda Yaccarino to testify in April regarding the allegations. Musk called the raid “a political attack.”
MAGA influencer “Catturd” (who has 4 million followers on X) amplified a report which reads “French police are currently raiding X’s office in Paris for a ‘cybercrime probe into algorithm issues and data extraction.’” The influencer added, “France can’t allow that free speech thingy.”
The Embassy of France in the U.S. — which proclaims in its header “France and the United States Then, Now, and Always” — responded to “Catturd” on X. The Embassy wrote: “France allows that free speech thingy, but our justice system ensures that actions that are illegal offline in France are also illegal online in France. Let the courts do their job. #NoOneAboveTheLaw.”
France allows that free speech thingy, but our justice system ensures that actions that are illegal offline in France are also illegal online in France. Let the courts do their job. #NoOneAboveTheLaw https://t.co/mVLam2N2vV
— Embassy of France in the U.S. (@franceintheus) February 3, 2026
The French Minister of Foreign Affairs account on X posted today about the investigation, which opened in June 2025: “The investigation by justice will do what courts do best: separate narratives from facts and offer X the opportunity to support its claims of moral superiority by demonstrating that the platform does not facilitate the four offenses listed:
- 1/ Aiding and abetting the possession and dissemination of images of minors of a sexual nature
- 2/ Deepfakes produced and disseminated via ‘Grok’
- 3/ Production of hateful and antisemitic content via ‘Grok’
- 4/ Fraudulent extraction of personal data from an automated data processing system by an organized group.”
The Minister’s account added: “Judicial scrutiny should be a welcome spotlight, not something to run from.”
The investigation by justice will do what courts do best: separate narratives from facts and offer X the opportunity to support its claims of moral superiority by demonstrating that the platform does not facilitate the four offenses listed:
1/ Aiding and abetting the possession… https://t.co/bXVDZFN0DV
— French Response (@FrenchResponse) February 4, 2026
In December, the European Commission fined X €120 million ($140 million) for violating the Digital Services Act (DSA), accusing the company of using “a deceptive ‘blue check’ design, faulty advertising repositories, and restricted researcher data access.” Musk responded by calling for the EU to be “abolished” and accused EU regulators of censorship and political bias.
Note: In May 2025, the Ambassador of France to the United States, Laurent Bili, spoke at an event hosted by the Meridian Center for Corporate Diplomacy in Washington, D.C., and addressed France’s “delicate balancing act” as it works to strengthen bilateral ties with the U.S. while adhering to the complex regulatory architecture of the European Union.
At the event it was noted that “France cannot act unilaterally…its decisions must be calibrated with EU-wide policies like the Digital Markets Act” and the Digital Services Act.