'Political attack': Musk hits back after France raids X's office in Paris

French police raided X's Paris office as part of a probe into alleged misuse of algorithms and illegal data practices, prompting Elon Musk to call the action a 'political attack'

French police raided the Paris offices of Elon Musk-owned social media platform X on Tuesday as part of a widening investigation into the company, Reuters reported. Musk, world's wealthiest man, termed the move a "political attack".

 

Prosecutors have also asked Musk to face questioning in April in connection with the probe, which focuses on the alleged misuse of algorithms and illegal data practices by X or its executives. 

This is a political attack https://t.co/Z204wJuQIr

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 3, 2026

  What triggered the police raid in Paris?

 

The raid is linked to a year-long investigation opened in January last year by the cybercrime unit of the Paris prosecutor’s office. The probe is examining suspected abuse of algorithms and fraudulent extraction of data from the platform.

 

 

French authorities said the investigation is being conducted jointly by the prosecutor’s cybercrime unit, the French police’s cybercrime division and the European Union’s police agency, Europol.

 

How did Elon Musk respond to the raid?

 

Reacting to the raid, Musk accused French authorities of acting with political motives. “This is a political attack,” Musk wrote on social media.

 

In another post on X, he said authorities in France should instead focus on targeting sex criminals.

 

In July last year, Musk had also dismissed the allegations, saying French prosecutors were launching a “politically-motivated criminal investigation”.   

 

What serious charges are being examined?

 

A report by the Associated Press said the investigation is looking into alleged “complicity” in possessing and spreading pornographic images of minors, creating and sharing sexually explicit deepfakes, denial of crimes against humanity and manipulation of an automated data processing system as part of an organised group.

 

The Paris prosecutor’s office said the probe was launched after a French lawmaker raised concerns that biased algorithms on X may have distorted the functioning of an automated data processing system.

 

Prosecutors have asked Musk and former X chief executive officer Linda Yaccarino to attend “voluntary interviews” on April 20. Employees of X have also been summoned that same week to appear as witnesses, the statement said.

 

Yaccarino served as chief executive officer from May 2023 until July 2025.

 

What did X say about the police action?

 

In a post on its own platform denying the allegations, X criticised the raid on its Paris office, calling it “an abusive act of law enforcement theatre designed to achieve illegitimate political objectives rather than advance legitimate law enforcement goals rooted in the fair and impartial administration of justice”.

 

Meanwhile, the Paris prosecutor’s office posted on X that searches were underway at the company’s French offices. It also announced that it was leaving the platform and urged followers to connect on other social media channels.

 

“At this stage, the conduct of the investigation is based on a constructive approach, with the aim of ultimately ensuring that the X platform complies with French law, as it operates on the national territory,” the prosecutors’ statement said.   

 

What role are Europol and EU regulators playing?

 

Europol is supporting French authorities in the case, though it did not share further details. “Europol is supporting the French authorities in this,” spokesperson Jan Op Gen Oorth told the Associated Press.

 

X is also under scrutiny in other European countries. In the UK, the Information Commissioner’s Office said it is examining whether X and xAI followed the law while processing personal data and whether Grok had safeguards to prevent the creation of “harmful manipulated images”.

 

Last month, the European Commission launched a separate investigation after Grok generated non-consensual, sexualised deepfake images on X.

 

How has the Grok controversy deepened the probe?

 

French authorities said the investigation expanded after Grok generated posts that allegedly denied the Holocaust and spread sexually explicit deepfakes.

 

In a shared post in French, Grok claimed gas chambers at the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp were meant for “disinfection with Zyklon B against typhus” rather than mass murder, language commonly linked to Holocaust denial, AP reported.

 

The chatbot later corrected itself, admitted the error, said the post had been deleted, and cited historical evidence that Zyklon B was used to kill more than one million people in the Auschwitz gas chambers.

 

Brussels had earlier fined X €120 million, about $140 million at the time, for breaching EU digital rules, including the use of blue checkmarks that violated norms on “deceptive design practices” and increased risks of scams and manipulation.

 

Separately, on Monday, Musk’s aerospace firm SpaceX announced it had acquired xAI in a deal that will integrate Grok with X and Musk’s satellite internet company, Starlink.