{"id":322568,"date":"2026-04-22T05:16:41","date_gmt":"2026-04-21T23:46:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/?p=322568"},"modified":"2026-04-22T05:16:41","modified_gmt":"2026-04-21T23:46:41","slug":"elon-musk-fails-to-look-at-paris-legal-summons-over-alleged-child-abuse-deepfakes-on-x-national","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/2026\/04\/22\/elon-musk-fails-to-look-at-paris-legal-summons-over-alleged-child-abuse-deepfakes-on-x-national\/","title":{"rendered":"Elon Musk fails to look at Paris legal summons over alleged child abuse, deepfakes on X – National"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Elon Musk failed to look at a summons to fulfill on Monday with Paris prosecutors, where investigators are looking into allegations of misconduct related to the social media platform X, including the spread of kid sexual abuse material and deepfake content.<\/p>\n

Musk and Linda Yaccarino \u2014 the previous CEO of X \u2014 were summoned for \u201cvoluntary interviews,\u201d while other employees of X were scheduled to be heard as witnesses throughout this week, in accordance with the Paris prosecutor\u2019s office.<\/p>\n

Musk was summoned after a search took place in February on the French premises of X as a part of an investigation opened<\/a> in January 2025 by the cybercrime unit of the Paris prosecutor\u2019s office. Musk and Yaccarino had been invited of their capacities as managers of X on the time of the events investigated. Yaccarino was CEO from May 2023 until July 2025.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThese voluntary interviews with the executives are intended to permit them to present their position regarding the facts and, where appropriate, the compliance measures they plan to implement,\u201d prosecutors said. \u201cAt this stage, the conduct of this investigation is a component of a constructive approach, with the last word objective of ensuring that platform X complies with French law, insofar because it operates throughout the national territory.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Paris prosecutor\u2019s office told The Associated Press that Musk and Yaccarino\u2019s potential no-show on Monday \u201cwill not be an obstacle for investigations to proceed\u201d ahead of the meeting.<\/p>\n

In a later statement to the BBC<\/a> on Monday, the Paris prosecutor\u2019s office said it had \u201ctaken note of the absence of the people summoned,\u201d without naming Musk.<\/p>\n

When asked for comment earlier on Monday, X pointed the BBC to a post by Musk on the social media platform<\/a> from February, calling the probe a \u201cpolitical attack.\u201d<\/p>\n

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It is a political attack https:\/\/t.co\/Z204wJuQIr<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 3, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

What’s being investigated?<\/h2>\n

French authorities opened their investigation after reports from a French lawmaker alleging that biased algorithms on X likely distorted the functioning of an automatic data processing system. It expanded after the AI system, Grok, generated posts that allegedly denied the Holocaust (against the law in France) and spread sexually explicit deepfakes.<\/p>\n

Authorities are looking into alleged \u201ccomplicity\u201d in possessing and spreading pornographic images of minors, sexually explicit deepfakes, denial of crimes against humanity and manipulation of an automatic data processing system as a part of an organized group, together with other charges.<\/p>\n

X has previously denied any wrongdoing and referred to the allegations as \u201cbaseless.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Following the raid at X\u2019s Paris office in February, the social media platform\u2019s Global Government Affairs team wrote<\/a>, \u201cFrench judicial authorities raided X\u2019s Paris office today in reference to a politicized criminal investigation into alleged manipulation of algorithms and purported fraudulent data extraction.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u201cWe’re disenchanted by this development, but we are usually not surprised. The Paris Public Prosecutor\u2019s office widely publicized the raid \u2014 making clear that today\u2019s motion was an abusive act of law enforcement theater designed to realize illegitimate political objectives quite than advance legitimate law enforcement goals rooted within the fair and impartial administration of justice,\u201d the statement said.<\/p>\n

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Get each day Canada news delivered to your inbox so you may never miss the day’s top stories.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

X\u2019s Global Government Affairs team accused the Paris Public Prosecutor\u2019s Office of \u201cplainly attempting to exert pressure on X\u2019s senior management in america by targeting our French entity and employees, who are usually not the main target of this investigation.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u201cThe Prosecutor\u2019s Office has ignored the established procedural mechanisms to acquire evidence in compliance with international treaties and X\u2019s rights to defend itself,\u201d the statement continued. \u201cThese procedural mechanisms are well-known and used every day by judicial authorities around the globe.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe allegations underlying today\u2019s raid are baseless and X categorically denies any wrongdoing.\u201d<\/p>\n

The team said that X is \u201ccommitted to defending its fundamental rights and the rights of its users.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe is not going to be intimidated by the actions of French judicial authorities today,\u201d the statement concluded.<\/p>\n

French prosecutors alert U.S. authorities<\/h2>\n

In March, the Paris prosecutor\u2019s office alerted the U.S. Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) \u2014 the U.S. federal agency liable for regulating and overseeing financial markets \u2014 suggesting \u201cthat the controversy surrounding sexually explicit deepfakes generated by Grok can have been deliberately orchestrated to artificially boost the worth of the businesses X and xAI \u2014 potentially constituting criminal offenses,\u201d prosecutors said.<\/p>\n

The prosecutor\u2019s office also said this might have been done \u201cahead of the planned June 2026 stock market listing of the brand new entity formed by the merger of SpaceX and xAI, at a time when company X was clearly losing momentum.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to the Wall Street Journal<\/a>, the Justice Department told French authorities it wouldn\u2019t help facilitate their efforts to research Musk\u2019s X. The outlet reported that the Justice Department\u2019s Office of International Affairs accused Paris prosecutors of inappropriately using its justice system to interfere with an American business.<\/p>\n

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In a two-page letter sent last week, the Justice Department also said that France\u2019s requests for U.S. assistance \u201cconstitute an effort to entangle america in a politically charged criminal proceeding geared toward wrongfully regulating through prosecution the business activities of a social media platform.\u201d<\/p>\n

Katie Miller, the wife of White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller, shared the article in a post and wrote<\/a>, \u201cThe Justice Department just told French law enforcement authorities it wouldn\u2019t facilitate their efforts to research X. @TheJusticeDept accused France of abusing its criminal justice system to focus on an American company and censor free speech \u2014 in clear violation of the First Amendment.\u201d<\/p>\n

Musk quoted Miller\u2019s post on X, writing,<\/a> \u201cIndeed, this must stop.\u201d<\/p>\n

In an announcement to Global News, the Paris Public Prosecutor\u2019s Office said it \u201clearned from the press of the existence of a letter that may have been published by the international affairs office of the US Department of Justice.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u201cIn any case, it’s vital to recall that the French structure guarantees the separation of powers and the independence of the judicial authority. Criminal investigations are carried out under the only authority of the magistrates,\u201d the statement added.<\/p>\n

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