French authorities have summoned Elon Musk and former X CEO Linda Yaccarino for voluntary interviews over allegations of spreading child sexual abuse material and deepfake content on the platform, while the U.S. Justice Department dismissed French investigative requests, citing concerns about jurisdictional overreach.
French prosecutors have summoned Elon Musk and Linda Yaccarino, the former CEO of X, for voluntary interviews as part of an investigation into the platform’s handling of child sexual abuse material (CSAM) and deepfake content. The summons follows a February 2025 search of X’s French premises and allegations that the AI system Grok generated Holocaust-denying posts and sexually explicit deepfakes, which French authorities claim may have been orchestrated to boost the value of Musk’s companies ahead of a stock market listing.
Legal Battles Over X’s Responsibility for CSAM
A separate legal development in the U.S. highlights ongoing scrutiny of X’s content moderation. A federal appeals court revived part of a lawsuit accusing the platform of negligence in its response to CSAM, ruling that X must face claims it failed to act promptly after learning of a sexually explicit video involving minors. The case, which predates Musk’s acquisition of Twitter in 2022, hinges on the platform taking nine days to remove and report a video involving explicit images of minors—after it had been viewed over 167,000 times. The court’s decision underscores growing legal pressure on social media platforms to balance Section 230 immunity with accountability for harmful content.
The 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that X’s statutory obligation to report child pornography overrides Section 230 protections once a platform becomes aware of such material, per Judge Danielle Forrest. Plaintiffs—referred to as John Doe 1 and John Doe 2—were 13 and 14 years old when a predator, posing as a peer on Snapchat, coerced them into sending explicit content. That material was later posted to Twitter, where it remained despite multiple user reports and a complaint from one of the boy’s mothers. The court also revived a separate claim asserting that X’s infrastructure made it unnecessarily difficult for users to report child sexual abuse material, suggesting flaws in platform design and moderation workflows.
Broader concerns about CSAM handling on X persist, despite X’s announced improvements in detection technology. Nonprofits like Thorn have severed ties with X over payment disputes and policy concerns, and watchdogs report that illicit hashtags and spam accounts still circulate CSAM. While some claims were dismissed—such as those alleging X profited from sex trafficking or designed features that “amplify” abuse—the lawsuit adds to existing criticism of the platform’s response to CSAM.
The interplay between these developments—French criminal probes, U.S. legal challenges, and AI ethics debates—reveals a fragmented regulatory landscape for tech giants. As Musk’s companies navigate these pressures, the outcome could redefine how platforms like X manage AI-generated content, comply with international laws, and address long-standing concerns about online safety.
