France is to start lawsuit against X
(MENAFN) French authorities have initiated a criminal investigation into whether the social media platform X, owned by Elon Musk, was used to influence domestic politics through algorithm manipulation.
The Paris prosecutor confirmed Friday that the probe is based on two formal complaints submitted in January. While Musk himself was not named in the announcement, the investigation will focus on the platform's internal systems and its leadership over suspicions of using algorithmic tools to enable “foreign interference.”
One of the complaints was submitted by a legislator affiliated with President Emmanuel Macron’s political alliance. The filing accuses the platform of narrowing the spectrum of political viewpoints available to users and creating an increasingly volatile online environment. It also pointed to a lack of transparency in content moderation practices and suggested that Musk had been directly involved in shaping decisions. The complaint warned that the platform’s conduct presents “a real danger and a threat to our democracies.”
A second complaint, reportedly from a cybersecurity official within the French government, alleged that recent algorithmic changes on X have amplified content promoting racism and homophobia, with the intent of undermining democratic discourse.
Adding to the scrutiny, two Socialist Party lawmakers filed a separate legal complaint this week over Musk’s AI chatbot, Grok. The tool came under fire after generating offensive content, including antisemitic remarks and praise for Adolf Hitler. In response, Grok’s developers said they had updated the model to reduce hate speech output. Musk acknowledged the issue, explaining that the chatbot had been “too compliant to user prompts” and too easily manipulated into generating harmful content.
These developments come amid mounting pressure across Europe for tighter regulation of digital platforms. Lawmakers have voiced concerns about tech companies enabling extremist messaging or foreign influence in political processes. Musk sparked further backlash earlier this year when he publicly backed the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party during national elections, following which the party made significant gains in the Bundestag.
The investigation marks a deepening of tensions between European governments and X, as France now formally examines whether the platform’s practices could threaten democratic integrity.
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