Elon Musk's X Rejects Cooperation With French Investigation Called 'Political Strengthening'

French researcher David Chavalarias (photo: x @chavalarias)

JAKARTA Elon Musk's social media platform X refused to cooperate with a criminal investigation launched by French prosecutors. They refer to it as an "political motive" attempt and a threat to the freedom of speech of its users.

The investigation was upgraded earlier this month by prosecutors in Paris on suspicion of biased algorithms and fraudulent data extraction by X. Prosecutors have reportedly allowed police to conduct searches, wiretapping, and monitoring of Musk and executive X, or summoned them to testify. If they do not comply, the judge has the authority to issue an arrest warrant.

"Based on the information we have so far, X believes that this investigation has abused French law for political purposes and, in the end, limiting free speech," the company wrote through its Global Government Affairs account. For that reason, X did not comply with the request of the French authorities, as our legal rights are.

It is not yet known exactly what request the prosecutor submitted to X, but failure to comply with it could have legal consequences, ranging from fines to accusations of obstructing the legal process.

The Paris Prosecutor's Office has yet to comment on X's statement.

According to X, the investigation was sparked by French lawmaker Eric Bothorel, who accused the platform of manipulating his algorithm for the purpose of foreign mixing', accusations that X denies as completely untrue'.

In response, Bothorel defended the independence of the French judiciary. "It is a concept that seems completely reversed in the United States today," he said in a written statement, quoted by VOI from Reuters.

He added that France upholds free speech, but remains with clear boundaries. "Disappearance of responsibility and oversight can jeopardize freedom the same as bans and censorships."

Elon Musk, once known as an ally of the US President, Donald Trump, has repeatedly accused the European government of attacking free speech and expressing its support for several far-right parties in the region.

This investigation in France has the potential to widen the gap between the United States and the capital cities of European countries over restrictions on freedom of speech in cyberspace. Some top US officials have even accused censorship of conservative voices around the world.

Since late 2023, the European Commission has also investigated X for alleged violations of digital transparency rules and illegal content in the Digital Services Act (DSA).

In this investigation, Paris prosecutors are said to have asked X to submit data on all user uploads to be analyzed by researchers David Chavararias and Maziyar Panahi. X claims the two researchers showed "open hostility to X".

Chavalarias did not comment. While Panaini denied being involved in the investigation. "My name was wrongly mentioned, just because of my previous research project with David Chavalarias, who has never had any hostile intentions towards X," Archery said in an emailed statement.

"The fact that my name is called baseless shows their low concern for the reputation of others... I will not hesitate to take legal steps for defamation if I accept hate speech in any form," he added.

X has not yet responded to Archery's statement.

In addition, X also strongly criticized the French authorities' decision to investigate them on the basis of organized crime charges, which allowed police to intercept X employees' personal devices.