Really American
French prosecutors just walked straight onto Elon Musk’s home turf in Paris, and it wasn’t for a courtesy visit. On February 3, authorities raided the French headquarters of X as part of a criminal investigation launched in January 2025 into whether the platform’s algorithms were weaponized to influence French politics and circulate illegal content. Cybercrime units, working alongside Europol and the national gendarmerie, searched offices and seized materials while summoning Musk to Paris in April for what they called a “voluntary” interview, along with former CEO Linda Yaccarino.
Investigators say they’re probing possible algorithmic manipulation, biased recommendation systems, and the role of X’s Grok AI in amplifying Holocaust denial, child sexual abuse material, and the sexualized exploitation of women and girls. This isn’t a mild reprimand from content moderators. It’s a full-scale criminal inquiry into whether a billionaire-owned platform actively boosted extremism and foreign interference inside a democracy. Regulators in United Kingdom are now scrutinizing Grok as well, signaling that Europe increasingly views Musk’s tech empire less as innovation and more as a potential public-safety threat.
Meanwhile in the United States, Musk continues to sit atop billions in federal contracts and political leverage, shielded by a system that treats his wealth like immunity rather than a glaring conflict of interest. Under President Trump, oversight bodies that might rein in this kind of conduct have been hollowed out or sidelined, creating room for what scholars describe as creeping kleptocracy. The contrast is stark: Paris police comb through hard drives while Washington keeps cutting checks. At least some governments are willing to put billionaires in the defendant’s chair instead of on a pedestal.
