X offices raided by French police amid expanded investigation

French police and Europol, the European Union agency for law enforcement cooperation, have searched the local office of X in Paris. According to the Paris prosecutor’s office, the raid is tied to an active investigation that was first launched in 2025. In connection with the ongoing probe, French authorities have summoned X owner Elon Musk and former chief executive Linda Yaccarino for questioning. The summons is scheduled for April 20, and unnamed X staff members have also been called in for questioning during the same week. Musk, who bought the platform in 2022, and Yaccarino, who now serves as the chief executive of the company eMed, are being called to answer questions regarding the platform’s operations.

The judicial action marks a significant broadening of the original case. The investigation was initially opened to look into allegations of “fraudulent extraction of data” from an automated data-processing system by an organized group. However, the cybercrime unit of the French prosecutors’ office has now expanded the scope of the inquiry. The expanded probe includes serious criminal allegations, specifically “complicity in possession and distribution of child sexual abuse material”, “privacy violations”, and “Holocaust denial”. This expansion comes amid widespread criticism of X and Musk over the platform’s content moderation, particularly regarding how Grok AI—the AI product developed by xAI—has been used to generate “nonconsensual imagery” and “child abuse imagery” of other individuals.

X has pushed back against the investigation and the law enforcement action. Rosemarie Esposito, a spokesperson for X, pointed to a public statement from the company’s Global Government Affairs account asserting that “the allegations underlying today’s raid are baseless and X categorically denies any wrongdoing.” Conversely, French authorities have framed the raid as a step to ensure compliance with local laws. Maylis De Roeck, a spokesperson for the Paris prosecutor’s office, confirmed the search and stated that the public prosecutor’s objective is to ensure that X complies with French law because the platform operates within the national territory. A spokesperson for eMed, Yaccarino’s current employer, did not respond to requests for comment regarding her summons.

Why it matters

The investigation into X has expanded to include serious criminal allegations, marking a significant escalation in the legal pressure facing the platform and its leadership in France. The case highlights the growing friction between social media platforms and national regulatory bodies seeking to enforce compliance within the national territory.