The international affairs bureau of the US Department of Justice has warned French authorities that Washington will not facilitate their investigation of Elon Musk, who has been summoned by the Paris prosecutor’s office.
In a two-page letter seen by the Wall Street Journal, the US Department of Justice warned French authorities that Washington will not facilitate their investigation into the algorithmic operations of X, the platform owned by Elon Musk.
The latter is summoned this Monday, April 20th by the Paris prosecutor’s office for a “free hearing” as part of an investigation launched at the beginning of 2025. But there is no indication that the owner of X will honor the summons.
A search was conducted at the French premises of the social network on February 3rd, escalating tensions between Paris and the 54-year-old entrepreneur, who at the time called it “a political attack.” In late March, the billionaire referred to the French prosecutors who had informed American authorities of a possible “artificial valuation” of the social network X as “mentally retarded”.
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“This investigation aims to use the French criminal justice system to regulate a public space dedicated to freedom of expression, in violation of the First Amendment of the United States Constitution,” explains the Bureau of International Affairs of the Department of Justice in its letter.
They believe that assisting France in its investigations “constitutes an attempt to involve the United States in a criminal procedure with a strong political connotation, aiming to regulate, through legal proceedings, the commercial activities of a social media platform.”
Investigations against the social network owned by Elon Musk were opened after two reports received on January 12, 2025. The investigation was entrusted to the General Directorate of the National Gendarmerie (DGGN) and then expanded after new reports. These concerned Grok, the AI integrated into this social network, for the dissemination of denialist content and sexually explicit deepfakes.
In addition to Elon Musk, other employees of the X platform are summoned in the coming days, still as witnesses. Among them is Linda Yaccarino, the former CEO of the platform.
