The shadow of Elon Musk hovers once again on Europe. The Paris prosecutor's office opened a criminal investigation targeting platform X, suspected of algorithmic manipulation for foreign interference purposes. This case, at the crossroads of cybercrime, European justice and geopolitical tensions, could mark a new escalation in the trade war between the United States and the European Union.
In short
- The French prosecution opens a criminal investigation against X for algorithmic manipulation alleged and fraudulent data extraction.
- The investigation follows two reports filed on January 12, including one by the deputy Éric Bothorel.
- The J3 cybercrime cell conducts investigations, the same unit that arrested Pavel Durov in 2024.
French justice suspects X of organized digital drift
The Paris prosecutor's office has officially opened a criminal investigation targeting platform X, with immediate transmission of the file to the Directorate General of the National Gendarmerie. This decision follows two reports filed on January 12 with the specialized cybercrime division.
The first comes from the deputy Éric Bothorel, member of the presidential party together for the Republic.
In a Declaration published on Xhe claims to be ” Convinced that an extreme information bias on the X platform was used to serve Elon Musk's political opinions and that this could only happen by algorithmic manipulation ».
The second report comes from a senior government official, whose identity remains confidential.
The survey relates to two heads of offense: the alteration of the operation of an automated data processing system and fraudulent data extraction, in a framework qualified as “organized group”.
According to the prosecutor Laure Beccuau, the investigations aim to establish if X knowingly violates French law by manipulating its algorithms for the purposes of interference or influence.
The instruction has been entrusted to cell J3, the elite unit in terms of cybercrime. This same team had already distinguished itself in 2024 by the arrest of the founder of Telegram, Pavel Durov, in a similar case.
This new survey is added to the already open procedures, in particular that for complicity in aggravated moral harassment following the complaint of Magali Berdah in April 2023.
Europe tightens the vice around x
Since his acquisition by Elon Musk in 2022, Twitter – who has become X – has continued to multiply the arms with the European authorities.
The investigation opened by the French justice is part of a broader dynamic by the European Union, determined to supervise the large digital platforms.
In February, two German NGOs won a major legal battle: the Berlin Regional Court ordered X to give access to its engagement data, in order to allow researchers to investigate possible electoral manipulations.
At the same time, the European Commission has opened an investigation into non-compliance allegedly in Digital Services Act (DSA), the new European regulation on digital services.
This text imposes on large platforms strict obligations: rapid deletion of illegal content, transparency on the functioning of algorithms, and increased cooperation with the authorities. In the event of non-compliance, sanctions can reach up to 6 % of global turnover.
This regulatory pressure falls to the worst time for Elon Musk, who aims to make X an “all-in-one” financial “social network, a banking platform and a crypto hub on a global scale.
But without the approval of European regulators, these projects may remain a dead letter. Institutional trust is essential to operate in the financial sector in Europe.
This situation is part of a context of growing trade tensions between Europe and the United States. The Platform Survey, a platform owned by one of the most influential American entrepreneurs, could thus be added to the points of transatlantic friction and fuel the debates on the regulation of American technological giants in Europe.
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