Elon Musk’s social media platform, X, on Monday accused French authorities of launching a politically motivated investigation into its algorithm and practices, stating it would not cooperate with the probe.
In a statement posted on the platform, X claimed that the inquiry misrepresents French law to advance a political agenda and ultimately restrict freedom of expression.
“X believes this investigation is distorting French law to serve a political purpose and suppress free speech,” the company said, adding that it had declined to comply with requests for access to its recommendation algorithm and real-time data, asserting its legal right to do so.
French cybercrime prosecutors opened the investigation on 11 July, citing alleged offences such as manipulation and data extraction from automated systems “as part of a criminal gang”.
The probe followed two complaints filed in January, one of which came from Éric Bothorel, an MP from President Emmanuel Macron’s centrist party. Bothorel had criticised what he described as a decline in content diversity and undue influence from Musk on the platform since his 2022 acquisition of the former Twitter.
Musk has stirred controversy in Europe with political statements, including support for Germany’s far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) ahead of regional elections in February.
“Democracy is too fragile to allow digital platform owners to dictate what we think, who we vote for, or who we hate,” Bothorel said following the announcement of the probe.
In response, X stated: “Mr Bothorel’s allegation that X manipulated its algorithm for the purpose of foreign interference is entirely unfounded.”
Prosecutors have not yet clarified whether the case involves France’s new law against foreign interference in politics, enacted last year.
X also objected to the choice of experts involved in examining its algorithm. The company singled out mathematician David Chavalarias and computer scientist Maziyar Panahi, both of whom were involved in “HelloQuitteX” — a project designed to help users migrate from X to other platforms.
X argued that their selection cast doubt on the impartiality and fairness of the investigation.
Furthermore, the platform strongly objected to the application of the “organised gang” classification, describing it as excessive and typically reserved for serious criminal networks such as drug cartels or mafia groups. X claimed that this designation permits French authorities to use sweeping investigative measures, including wiretapping the personal devices of its employees.