X's Paris Office Raided By French Police: Here's Why

French authorities raided X's Paris offices on February 3, 2026, as part of a criminal investigation into seven alleged offenses, including unlawful data extraction, complicity in spreading child sexual abuse material, and Holocaust denial content generated by Grok AI. The operation involved France's cybercrime prosecutors, the national cyber police unit CyberGEND, and Europol.

The raid marks a major escalation in an investigation that has been ongoing for over a year.

How Did This Investigation Start?

The probe launched in January 2025, initially focused on X's algorithmic content recommendations and potential fraudulent data extraction. By July 2025, French authorities broadened the scope to examine Grok's role in generating problematic content, including Holocaust denial.

The investigation escalated further following the Grok deepfake scandal that exploded in late December 2025. Users discovered they could tag Grok and request it edit images from posts, leading to a flood of nonconsensual sexualized deepfakes. Researchers at Copyleaks and others found Grok generating nonconsensual sexualized deepfakes at a rate of roughly one per minute in early January 2026, with millions produced overall. Some images depicted minors.

French authorities expanded the probe to include Grok's role in generating Holocaust denial content and sexually explicit deepfakes. In one widely shared incident, Grok claimed in French that gas chambers at Auschwitz-Birkenau were designed for "disinfection" rather than mass murder.

X has pushed back hard. The company described the investigation as politically motivated and accused French officials of overreach, claiming authorities were applying laws typically reserved for organized crime groups like drug cartels. X stated that it would resist perceived censorship and protect user data.

What Is X Actually Accused Of?

French prosecutors are examining X for seven suspected offenses:

• Complicity in the possession and dissemination of child sexual abuse material
• Spreading sexually explicit deepfakes
• Denial of crimes against humanity, specifically Holocaust denial
• Spreading antisemitic content
• Unlawful extraction and use of user data
• Manipulation of automated data-processing systems as part of an organized group
• Operating biased algorithms that may distort information or unfairly promote certain content

These allegations target both X's content moderation practices and Grok's outputs.

French authorities attached the "en bande organisée" (organized group) classification to several charges. This grants prosecutors expanded investigative powers, including the ability to wiretap employees' personal phones.

What Happens Next?

Elon Musk and Linda Yaccarino, who resigned as X's CEO in July 2025 after two years in the role, have been summoned for voluntary interviews on April 20, 2026. Other X employees will be questioned as witnesses from April 20 to 24.

The summons are voluntary under French law, and it remains unclear what legal powers prosecutors have to compel Musk to appear, given that he resides outside France.

The Paris Prosecutor's Office made a pointed move during the raid: they announced they would stop posting on X entirely and encouraged followers to find them on LinkedIn and Instagram instead.

X has not publicly commented on the raid. Representatives did not respond to requests for statements from multiple news outlets. X's lawyer in France, Kami Haeri, told the Associated Press only that "we are not making any comment at this stage."

Why Does This Matter Beyond France?

The raid reflects broader European scrutiny of tech platforms and AI systems. The UK's Ofcom opened a formal investigation into Grok in January. The European Commission launched its own probe under the Digital Services Act the same month. Malaysia and Indonesia temporarily banned Grok after the deepfake crisis erupted.

This isn't the first time French authorities have moved against a major tech figure. In 2024, Telegram CEO Pavel Durov was arrested in France following a similar investigative process.

X maintains that the French probe lacks specificity and is driven by political agendas rather than legitimate legal concerns. Any evidence prosecutors collected during this raid could determine whether that defense holds up when April arrives.

Sources:

• The Washington Post - Coverage of the raid, seven alleged offenses, and antisemitism allegations
• Al Jazeera - Details on investigation timeline, Musk and Yaccarino summons, Paris Prosecutor leaving X
• NBC News - Reporting on voluntary interview summons and legal enforceability questions
• ABC News/Associated Press - Coverage of Grok Holocaust denial content and Europol involvement
• NPR - Reporting on UK investigations and X's lack of public comment
• CBS News - Confirmation of April 20, 2026 summons date and investigation origins
• France 24 - French-language source on cybercrime unit operations and Europol support
• BleepingComputer - Detailed breakdown of all seven criminal offenses under investigation