The American technology entrepreneur Elon Musk failed to appear for a voluntary interview with Paris prosecutors on Monday, declining a summons related to an ongoing investigation into his social media platform X and artificial intelligence chatbot Grok.
French prosecutors confirmed they had noted the absence of individuals who had been summoned for questioning, though they emphasized that non-attendance would not impede the continuation of their investigation. The billionaire had previously criticized French authorities in a social media post using derogatory language.
The investigation, initiated in January 2025, originally centered on allegations that X’s algorithm had been employed to interfere with French political processes. The scope of the inquiry subsequently expanded to encompass concerns about the dissemination of Holocaust denial content and sexually explicit deepfake images through the platform’s AI chatbot, Grok.
In February, French authorities conducted searches at X’s Paris offices, an action the social media company characterized as politically motivated and an abuse of judicial power. The company has consistently denied any wrongdoing in connection with the investigation.
Paris prosecutors had summoned both Musk and Linda Yaccarino, who served as X’s CEO until her resignation in July after two years leading the company. The summons identified them as the de facto and de jure managers of the platform during the period under investigation. Musk responded to the summons by describing it as a political attack.
Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau indicated that company employees had also been summoned to provide witness testimony between April 20 and 24. However, she noted that their attendance at these voluntary sessions would not be essential for the investigation to proceed.
The French investigation encompasses several suspected criminal violations, including potential complicity in possessing child sexual abuse material and denial of crimes against humanity. X has maintained that the probe is politically motivated.
Pavel Durov, co-founder of Telegram and himself subject to a French investigation regarding illegal activity on his messaging platform, commented on the situation Monday. The Russian-born entrepreneur, who holds French citizenship, posted on X that France was losing legitimacy by weaponizing criminal investigations to suppress free speech and privacy.
The French inquiry forms part of a broader international scrutiny of Grok following revelations that users could generate sexualized images of women and children through simple text commands. According to the Center for Countering Digital Hate, a nonprofit watchdog organization, the system generated approximately 3 million sexualized images in an 11-day period, predominantly featuring women but also including an estimated 23,000 images appearing to depict children.
Multiple international regulatory bodies have launched parallel investigations. Britain’s data protection authority initiated an inquiry in February examining whether X and xAI, Musk’s artificial intelligence company, complied with personal data regulations regarding Grok’s generation of sexualized deepfakes. The European Union also opened an investigation in January specifically focusing on Grok’s creation of sexualized deepfake images of women and minors.
These investigations reflect growing international concern about the potential misuse of artificial intelligence technology and social media platforms, particularly regarding the protection of minors and the prevention of harmful content dissemination.
Leave a Reply