Kamal Ghorui
The US is not ready to help France in its investigation into Elon Musk’s X (formerly Twitter). This investigation follows French officials’ raid on the social media company’s Paris office earlier this year. In a recent two-page letter (seen by the Wall Street Journal), the US Department of Justice said it would not facilitate requests from French law enforcement, accusing authorities of using the country’s legal system to interfere with an American business.The letter read, “This investigation seeks to use the criminal legal system in France to regulate a public square for the free expression of ideas and opinions in a manner contrary to the First Amendment of the United States Constitution.”The department added that France’s requests for US assistance “constitute an effort to entangle the United States in a politically charged criminal proceeding aimed at wrongfully regulating through prosecution the business activities of a social media platform.”Earlier, X described the raid at its Paris office as “an abusive act of law enforcement theatre.” The platform, part of xAI, was recently acquired by SpaceX, which is reportedly planning an initial public offering this year.
Elon Musk’s X says French investigation ‘abusive’ and thanked US for support
In a statement to WSJ, an xAI official said, “We are grateful to the Justice Department for rejecting this effort by a prosecutor in Paris to compel our CEO and several employees to sit for interviews. We hope the Parisian authorities will now come to their senses, recognise that there is no wrongdoing here, and terminate their baseless investigation.”French investigators raided X’s Paris office in February, marking an escalation in regulatory action in Europe involving the platform. The US Department of Justice said French authorities had sought US assistance three times this year, including requests to serve summonses on X officials.French officials have summoned Musk, former X chief executive Linda Yaccarino, and other employees for what they described as voluntary interviews as part of a wider investigation into the platform’s role in the spread of deepfakes and alleged bias in its content algorithm. Musk’s summons was scheduled for this week. Prosecutors in France can even issue arrest warrants for individuals who fail to appear for such interviews.French authorities are also examining other potential charges against X, including the dissemination of child pornography and Holocaust denial, which is illegal under French law, prosecutors said.The case is part of a broader trans-Atlantic disagreement over how large technology platforms such as TikTok, Instagram, and X should manage online speech. European regulators have been increasing enforcement of content-moderation rules, while officials in the US, including those linked to the Trump administration, have argued that such measures may restrict dissent beyond Europe.The investigation into X began in January 2025 after a lawmaker and another official filed complaints alleging that the platform’s content-selection algorithm, which they said favoured Musk’s views, could amount to foreign interference in France. French prosecutors sought access to X’s algorithm in July 2025 as part of the probe into potential bias. The case was expanded in November 2025 following reports of antisemitic content, including Holocaust denial. Earlier this year, French authorities added allegations related to the creation and distribution of child pornography and non-consensual deepfakes to the list of charges under review.
