By Trendsetter Tribune 
In a dramatic escalation of legal pressure on Elon Musk’s social media empire, French judicial authorities raided the Paris headquarters of X on Tuesday, February 3, 2026. Led by the Paris Prosecutor’s Office cybercrime unit and supported by Europol, the raid marks a significant expansion of a criminal investigation that began over a year ago.+1
The prosecutor’s office, headed by Laure Beccuau, took the unprecedented step of announcing it was leaving the platform entirely, moving its official communications to LinkedIn and Instagram.
Why the Raid Happened
The investigation, originally launched in January 2025, initially focused on algorithmic bias and “foreign interference.” However, the scope has since broadened to include seven severe alleged offenses linked to the platform’s operations and its AI chatbot, Grok.+1
Key Allegations Under Investigation:
- Child Exploitation: “Complicity” in the possession and organized distribution of child sexual abuse material (CSAM).
- Sexualized Deepfakes: Violation of image rights through the generation of non-consensual sexualized deepfakes via Grok.
- Hate Speech & Holocaust Denial: Dissemination of content denying crimes against humanity—a criminal offense in France.
- Data Manipulation: Fraudulent data extraction and the falsified operation of automated data processing systems.
- Regulatory Defiance: Hindering criminal investigations by denying previous authorities’ requests to identify users engaging in hate speech.
Musk and Yaccarino Summoned
French authorities have formally summoned Elon Musk and former X CEO Linda Yaccarino (who served from 2023 until July 2025) for “voluntary interviews” on April 20, 2026. Several other X employees have also been summoned as witnesses to testify during that same week.
X Strikes Back: “Law Enforcement Theater”
X issued a blistering response, characterizing the raid as a politically motivated attack on free speech.
“The Paris Public Prosecutor’s Office is plainly attempting to exert pressure on X’s senior management in the United States by targeting our French entity and employees… today’s action was an abusive act of law enforcement theater.”
The company maintains that it has implemented significant guardrails for Grok and that the French investigation “distorts French law” and “circumvents due process.”
Global Regulatory Avalanche
The raid in Paris coincides with a wave of new investigations across Europe and the UK:
- United Kingdom: The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) launched a fresh probe Tuesday into how Grok handles personal data, while Ofcom continues its “urgent” investigation into the platform’s safety standards.
- European Union: The European Commission is currently determining if X breached the Digital Services Act (DSA), having already fined the company €120 million in December for deceptive design practices.
- Norway & Malaysia: These nations recently became the first to block access to Grok entirely over safety concerns.