Elon Musk's X refuses to assist French prosecutors, says probe serves a political agenda

Why it matters: Elon Musk's X is once again defying authorities' demands. On this occasion, the platform is refusing to comply with a probe launched by French prosecutors, part of what the company calls a "politically-motivated criminal investigation."

French prosecutors started investigating X in January over alleged manipulation of its algorithm and what they call "fraudulent data extraction." It was spurred by complaints from a French member of parliament and a senior official at a public institution.

The probe was stepped up earlier this month. Reuters writes that police have been enlisted to investigate the alleged actions by the company or its executives.

In a post on its Global Government Affairs account today, X wrote that it categorically denied the allegations made against it by French authorities. It added that the investigation undermines the platform's right to due process and threatens its users' rights to privacy and free speech.

X says that French authorities have requested access to its recommendation algorithm and real-time data about all user posts on the platform. The data will be analyzed by several experts to purportedly "uncover the truth" about X's operations.

X says the two experts who review its algorithm are David Chavalarias, director of the Paris Complex Systems Institute (ISC-PIF), and Maziyar Panahi, an AI platform leader at ISC-PIF. It claims that both have been openly hostile toward X in the past, and that Chavalarias runs a campaign called "Escape X," which encourages people to leave the platform.

X says the individuals' involvement raises questions about the impartiality, fairness, and political motivations behind the investigation.

"X remains in the dark as to the specific allegations made against the platform. However, based on what we know so far, X believes that this investigation is distorting French law in order to serve a political agenda and, ultimately, restrict free speech," the post continues.

The company says that for these reasons, it has not acceded to the French authorities demands, which it has a legal right to do.

X also noted that French authorities have classified X as an organized gang, a characterization usually reserved for drug cartels or mafia groups. The move will allow French police to use extensive investigative methods, including wiretapping the personal devices of X employees.

While X owner Elon Musk and Donald Trump have fallen out, the President will likely be angry to see another American company being investigated in Europe.

Musk, meanwhile, has publicly supported Telegram founder Pavel Durov, who was arrested in France last year over allegations he allowed criminal activity on the app. Durov called his arrest an attack on free speech, which Musk echoed.