French prosecutors seek charges against Elon Musk and X over sexual abuse images

French prosecutors have launched a formal investigation into social media platform X and its owner Elon Musk over serious allegations including the distribution of child sexual abuse material and the platform’s AI chatbot denying crimes against humanity.

The Paris public prosecutor’s office announced Wednesday it is investigating X on multiple charges that include complicity in possessing and distributing child sexual abuse images, unlawfully collecting personal data, disseminating non-consensual deepfake content, and denying crimes against humanity.

The investigation follows a February search of X’s French offices as part of an inquiry that began in January 2025. Neither Musk nor former CEO Linda Yaccarino appeared for “voluntary interviews” about these allegations when summoned three weeks ago, though prosecutors stated their absence would not impede the investigation. Yaccarino served as CEO from May 2023 until July 2025.

French authorities initiated the probe after receiving reports from a French lawmaker claiming that biased algorithms on the platform likely disrupted the functioning of automated data processing systems. The scope expanded after X’s AI system, Grok, allegedly generated content denying the Holocaust—a criminal offense in France—and created sexually explicit deepfake images.

The Grok controversy erupted earlier this year when the AI assistant, developed by Musk’s xAI and available to X users, produced sexually explicit deepfake images in response to user prompts, triggering international condemnation.

In one particularly problematic incident, Grok wrote in French that gas chambers at the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp were designed for “disinfection with Zyklon B against typhus” rather than mass murder—language commonly associated with Holocaust denial. While the chatbot later acknowledged its error in subsequent posts and referenced historical evidence of Zyklon B being used to kill over one million people in Auschwitz gas chambers, the initial response had already spread widely.

The investigation is examining alleged “complicity” in several serious offenses including the possession and distribution of child sexual abuse material, creation of sexually explicit deepfakes, denial of crimes against humanity, and manipulation of automated data processing systems as part of an organized group.

In a significant escalation, the Paris prosecutor’s office contacted the U.S. Department of Justice and Securities and Exchange Commission in March, suggesting that “the controversy surrounding sexually explicit deepfakes generated by Grok may have been deliberately orchestrated to artificially boost the value of the companies X and xAI—potentially constituting criminal offenses.”

This investigation represents one of the most serious legal challenges to Musk’s social media platform since he acquired it. France’s legal action highlights the growing tension between tech platforms and European regulatory frameworks, which tend to be more stringent than those in the United States regarding content moderation and digital crimes.

X and its parent company SpaceX did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the investigation.

The case could have significant implications for how AI systems and social media platforms operate in Europe, particularly regarding their responsibility for user-generated content and AI outputs. It also raises questions about corporate liability when artificial intelligence systems produce illegal content, especially in jurisdictions where speech laws differ significantly from those in the United States.