France Summons Elon Musk Over X Algorithm, Grok Probe

French authorities have summoned billionaire tech entrepreneur Elon Musk for a voluntary interview in Paris as part of an ongoing investigation into alleged misconduct linked to his social media platform, X (formerly Twitter).

The summons, issued in February, was tied to a probe launched in January 2025 examining claims that X’s algorithm may have been used to interfere in French politics.

Although Musk is expected to appear on Monday, it remained unclear whether he will honour the invitation.

French prosecutors later widened the investigation to include concerns surrounding Grok, an artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot developed by Musk’s company xAI. The expansion followed allegations that Grok enabled the dissemination of Holocaust denial content and sexually explicit deepfake images.

In early February, authorities conducted searches at X’s Paris offices, a move the company criticised as “politicised” raids and an “abusive judicial act.” At the time, prosecutors also invited Musk and former X chief executive Linda Yaccarino for questioning as the “de facto and de jure managers of the X platform at the time of the events.” Musk described the move as a “political attack.”

Yaccarino stepped down as CEO in July last year after serving two years in the role.

Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau had earlier disclosed that several X employees were also summoned to appear between April 20 and 24 “to be heard as witnesses.”

However, the prosecutor’s office noted on Saturday that failure to honour voluntary invitations would not hinder the investigation.

“Their absence would not be an obstacle to the continuation of the investigation,” the office said.

Authorities have yet to disclose details of the venue or timing of Musk’s scheduled interview.

The probe centres on multiple suspected criminal offences, including complicity in the possession of child sexual abuse material and denial of crimes against humanity.

X has consistently denied wrongdoing, maintaining in July that the investigation is “politically motivated.”

The French inquiry is part of a broader international backlash against Grok after reports revealed that users could generate sexualised images of women and minors using simple prompts such as “put her in a bikini” or “remove her clothes.”

According to the Center for Countering Digital Hate, the chatbot generated an estimated three million sexualised images within 11 days, including about 23,000 that appeared to depict children.

Separately, the United Kingdom’s data regulator launched investigations in February into X and xAI over “serious concerns” about compliance with personal data laws in relation to Grok’s deepfake image generation.

In late January, the European Union also opened a probe into the platform over similar concerns involving sexualised deepfake content.

The investigations add to mounting regulatory scrutiny of Musk’s expanding technology empire, particularly in Europe, where authorities were increasingly focused on the risks posed by artificial intelligence and platform algorithms.