French Authorities Conduct Raid on X’s Paris Office Amid Ongoing UK Investigation

A raid took place on Tuesday at X’s Paris office, conducted by the cybercrime unit of the Paris prosecutor’s office, in collaboration with Europol and local police. This action is part of an ongoing investigation that broadened in July to include Grok. Earlier reports indicated that Elon Musk and former X CEO Linda Yaccarino were called in for hearings back in April.

The investigation, which began last year, is examining multiple allegations against X and Grok. These include complicity in the possession and distribution of child pornography, denial of crimes against humanity related to Holocaust denial content, and accusations that X has been manipulating its algorithm and unlawfully extracting user data.

On the same day, the UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) announced a separate formal investigation into X and xAI, focusing on Grok and its potential to generate harmful sexualized images and videos. This comes alongside another ongoing inquiry from Ofcom in the UK, which updated that while it is not currently investigating xAI, it is still in the process of gathering and analyzing evidence to determine if X has violated any laws.

These investigations have been prompted by a surge of nonconsensual sexualized deepfakes created by xAI’s Grok, which have been spreading across X. This issue has continued for weeks, despite X’s claims of having restricted the feature.

X has not yet responded to requests for comment.