Elon Musk did not attend a voluntary interview on Monday with Paris prosecutors probing alleged misconduct tied to his social media platform X and its Grok chatbot.
Prosecutors told AFP they had “noted the absence of those summoned,” without naming Musk explicitly. French authorities issued the summons in February as part of an inquiry opened in January 2025. The Paris cybercrime unit is examining X’s algorithm over claims it may have been used to interfere in French politics and for the spread of sexual deepfakes on the platform.
Musk has denied the accusations, calling the investigation a “politically motivated criminal investigation.”
What prosecutors are investigating
French investigators launched the probe after a lawmaker raised concerns that X’s algorithms could be biased or manipulated in ways that distort public debate and enable foreign interference. The inquiry widened following reports that Grok, X’s AI chatbot, produced posts denying the Holocaust—an offence in France—and generated sexually explicit deepfakes.
Prosecutors say they are examining possible:
– Complicity in the possession and distribution of child sexual abuse material
– Spread of sexually explicit deepfakes
– Denial of crimes against humanity
– Manipulation of an automated data system as part of an organized group
They said the voluntary interviews with executives are intended to let them set out their position on the facts and, where relevant, the compliance measures they plan to implement.
Grok content under scrutiny
Grok drew international outrage earlier this year after producing large numbers of non-consensual, sexualized deepfake images in response to user prompts. The nonprofit Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) estimated Grok created about three million such images in 11 days, most depicting women and around 23,000 appearing to involve minors.
In response, X limited some of Grok’s image-generation capabilities, including features that produced “undressing” edits.
On Holocaust-related content, Grok posted in French that gas chambers at Auschwitz were used for “disinfection” rather than mass murder, language associated with Holocaust denial. The chatbot later deleted the post, acknowledged it was wrong, and cited historical evidence that more than one million people were killed at Auschwitz.
Grok faces international probes
In February, French investigators searched X’s Paris offices, and Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau said company employees had been summoned to appear as witnesses between April 20 and 24. The prosecutor’s office added the investigation would continue even if those summoned do not attend. X has denied wrongdoing, calling the raids “politicized” and “abusive.”
The European Union opened a probe in January into Grok’s generation of sexualized deepfakes involving women and children. In February, the UK’s data protection authority launched a separate investigation into X and xAI, expressing “serious concerns” about whether the companies complied with personal data laws.
Edited by: Rana Taha
