Prosecutors search X Paris office as Grok probe widens

French cybercrime prosecutors are carrying out a high-profile search of X’s Paris offices and have issued voluntary summonses for Elon Musk and former chief executive Linda Yaccarino to appear for questioning in April, authorities confirmed. The move represents a significant expansion of an inquiry opened in January 2025 into alleged algorithm manipulation and related conduct tied to the platform’s recommendation and AI systems.

Investigators executed the search on Tuesday as part of efforts to examine whether X’s underlying algorithms, and in particular its Grok artificial intelligence tools, were managed or altered in ways that breached French cybercrime statutes. Prosecutors are said to be probing the design, deployment and operational oversight of systems that determine how posts are ranked, amplified and surfaced to users. The summonses for Musk and Yaccarino are voluntary; they are invited to give testimony and are not under formal arrest.

The inquiry, now more than a year old, has shifted from an initial focus on algorithmic outputs to a broader scrutiny of the company’s AI capabilities and internal decision-making. That trajectory mirrors global concerns about how large platforms use automated systems to shape public discourse, prioritize content and deploy AI agents that generate or curate material at scale. Regulators and prosecutors in Europe have increasingly framed such questions as matters not only of policy but of potential criminal liability when conduct crosses legal lines.

The involvement of Musk, who owns X, elevates the political and legal stakes. His attendance, if accepted, would put the platform’s top strategic choices under direct scrutiny. Yaccarino, who served as CEO after the platform’s ownership change, could be asked about operational controls and executive-level decisions affecting algorithmic policies and AI deployment. Both have previously been central figures in X’s rapid product shifts and business experiments.

Legal analysts say the investigation could focus on whether changes to recommendation logic or AI behavior were implemented without proper safeguards, whether internal testing produced misleading outcomes, or whether any manipulation served commercial or political ends. Proving criminal intent or unlawful manipulation in algorithmic systems is complex and requires technical reverse engineering, expert testimony and access to internal logs and models. The Paris search is likely aimed at securing documents and data that can help map decision pathways inside X’s engineering and product teams.

The case underscores the growing intersection of AI governance and criminal law. European regulators have already moved to tighten oversight of digital platforms through data protection, competition and safety frameworks; criminal inquiries add a new enforcement dimension that could set precedent for how authorities hold companies accountable when automated systems affect democratic debate or consumer trust.

The voluntary summonses put the next visible milestone on the calendar: Musk and Yaccarino’s planned appearances in April. How they respond, what materials prosecutors obtain from the Paris search, and whether the probe leads to formal charges will determine the longer-term consequences for X, its AI products and broader regulatory approaches to algorithmic governance.