February 5, 2026 French authorities raided X’s Paris offices on Tuesday as part of a criminal investigation tied to the behaviour of the company’s Grok artificial intelligence system. They also summoned Elon Musk and former chief executive Linda Yaccarino for voluntary questioning.
The search, carried out with assistance from Europol, marks a significant escalation in a probe launched in January 2025, according to the Paris prosecutor’s office. Prosecutors said the investigation has expanded following reports that Grok generated Holocaust denial content and sexually explicit deepfake images, including material involving minors.
The inquiry initially focused on suspected abuse of automated systems and alleged fraudulent extraction of data. It now also covers potential offences including complicity in the possession and distribution of child sexual abuse material, privacy violations and the spread of antisemitic content, prosecutors said.
X said it strongly disputes the allegations. In a statement posted by its Global Government Affairs account, the company called the raid a “politicized criminal investigation” and denied any wrongdoing. Musk separately described the action as a political attack.
Musk and Yaccarino, who stepped down as X’s CEO in July, were asked to appear in Paris on April 20. Prosecutors said unnamed X employees were also summoned for questioning that week.
The French action comes amid mounting international scrutiny of xAI, the Musk-founded firm behind Grok. Regulators in several jurisdictions have raised concerns about the system’s ability to generate non-consensual sexual images and antisemitic language. Authorities in Malaysia and Indonesia have blocked Grok entirely, while investigations are under way in the United Kingdom and across the European Union.
In the U.K., the Information Commissioner’s Office said it is examining whether Grok’s outputs raise questions about the use of personal data to generate intimate or sexualized images without consent, working alongside communications regulator Ofcom. Ofcom is assessing X’s compliance with platform rules but is not investigating xAI directly.
In the United States, California Attorney General Rob Bonta sent xAI a cease-and-desist letter in January, demanding the company halt what he described as illegal activity involving deepfake sexual images and child exploitation material. His office said Grok appeared to be enabling large-scale production of non-consensual imagery used to harass women and girls.
Grok’s image-generation features were partially restricted last month after criticism that users were exploiting the tool to digitally remove clothing from images of women and minors. Musk said anyone using Grok to create illegal content would face consequences and pointed to xAI’s terms prohibiting the sexualization or exploitation of children. However, analysis by the Center for Countering Digital Hate estimated the system produced millions of sexualized images within days, including tens of thousands that appeared to depict children.
The European Commission has also opened a probe into whether X adequately mitigated risks associated with Grok’s outputs. In December, EU regulators fined X €120 million over separate violations related to deceptive design and advertising transparency.
French prosecutors said their objective is to ensure X complies with French law while operating in the country.
