Paris prosecutors leave X and summon Elon Musk for questioning

In a move reflecting escalating tensions between European judicial authorities and tech giants, the Paris Public Prosecutor's Office announced on Tuesday its official withdrawal from the "X" platform (formerly Twitter). This symbolic yet practical decision coincided with the revelation that American billionaire Elon Musk had been summoned to appear before a French court, a legal precedent that could reshape the relationship between social media platforms and national laws.

Leaving the platform and details of the raid

In its latest statement on the platform, the public prosecutor's office clarified that the decision to leave was not made hastily, but rather followed a thorough inspection of the offices of the company "X" in France. The prosecutor's office also indicated that the public can now follow its news on LinkedIn and Instagram, a clear indication of severing digital ties with Musk's platform.

The French Gendarmerie's National Cybercrime Unit, in close collaboration with Europol, carried out the searches and raids. These actions are part of a broader judicial investigation opened in January 2025, aimed at examining the platform's compliance with strict French and European laws.

Summoning Elon Musk: Criminal liability

In a significant development, French prosecutor Laure Picaud confirmed that she has issued formal summonses to both Elon Musk, the platform's owner, and Linda Iaccarino, its former CEO. The prosecution has scheduled their questioning for April 20-24, 2026, as the "de facto and legal directors" of the platform during the period in which the alleged misconduct occurred.

This summons is of great legal importance, as the French judiciary seeks to determine the individual criminal liability of executives responsible for the published content and the platform's operating mechanisms, which represents a shift in how major technology companies that have long hid behind corporate immunity are held accountable.

List of accusations: From algorithms to banned content

The investigations are based on multiple complaints filed by MPs and activists, and focus primarily on:

• Algorithmic bias: Suspicions about the manipulation of "X" algorithms in content visibility and their negative impact on public opinion and democratic debate.
• Serious cybercrimes: Investigations have expanded to include complicity in the distribution and possession of child pornography, sexually explicit deepfake, and negligence in removing Holocaust denial content.

Platform X's response: "Political motives"

For its part, the X platform launched a counterattack, describing the French actions as "politically motivated" and designed for media attention. The platform's international government affairs team stated that the raids were based on unfounded allegations, reiterating the company's categorical denial of any wrongdoing and asserting that the actions were an attempt to achieve illegitimate political objectives by exploiting law enforcement agencies.

Pressuring international context

France is not acting in isolation from its international environment on this issue. The French move coincides with the announcement by the UK's data protection regulator of a parallel investigation into Musk's xAI company over inappropriate images generated by its artificial intelligence program, Grok. This convergence points to a growing European and global trend toward stricter regulation of AI tools and social media platforms, posing existential legal challenges to Musk's tech empire in Europe.