French police raid X places of work as they examine Elon Musk’s social media platform and AI chatbot Grok

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French prosecutors raided the Paris places of work of social media platform X on Tuesday as a part of a preliminary investigation into allegations that embrace spreading youngster sexual abuse photographs and deepfakes. They've additionally summoned billionaire proprietor Elon Musk for questioning.

X and Musk's synthetic intelligence firm xAI are additionally below scrutiny from Britain's information privateness regulator, which kicked off formal investigations into how the businesses dealt with private information after they developed and deployed Musk's synthetic intelligence chatbot Grok.

Grok sparked international outrage final month after it pumped out a torrent of sexualized nonconsensual deepfake photographs in response to requests from X customers. Deepfakes are manipulations based mostly on superior AI, the place photographs, audio or video are both digitally altered or absolutely generated by AI.

WATCH | French police raid X: Paris prosecutor's cybercrime unit searches X's workplace in France

French police on Tuesday raided the places of work of Elon Musk's social media community X and prosecutors have ordered the tech billionaire to face questions in April associated to a widening investigation into the platform, together with alleged 'complicity' of possessing and spreading youngster sexual abuse photographs and deepfakes. What's Grok? Grok was constructed by xAI and is out there on X, the place it encourages customers to "ask something." Customers steadily ask Grok to confirm movies, photographs and knowledge in X posts, and to elucidate or elaborate on topics.

Grok's web site describes the instrument as "a free AI assistant designed by xAI to maximise fact and objectivity." Critics have mentioned it's programmed to mirror Musk's views. Musk has brazenly talked about "fixing" Grok after it gave solutions he did not like.

Grok will also be used to create or edit photographs utilizing prompts within the search bar out there on X, which led to the deepfake controversy. Reuters has discovered the chatbot continues to generate sexualized photographs of folks even when customers explicitly warn that the themes don't consent.

On Monday, SpaceX, Musk's area exploration and rocket enterprise, introduced that it had acquired xAI in a deal that will even mix Grok, X and his satellite tv for pc communication firm Starlink.

Why are French police investigating? The French investigation was opened in January final 12 months by the prosecutors' cybercrime unit, the Paris prosecutors' workplace mentioned in a press release. Authorities opened the investigation after stories from a French lawmaker alleging that biased algorithms on X doubtless distorted the functioning of an automatic information processing system.

It expanded its investigation after Grok generated posts that allegedly denied the Holocaust — a criminal offense in France — and unfold sexually specific deepfakes, the assertion mentioned.

It is now trying into alleged "complicity" in possessing and spreading pornographic photographs of minors, sexually specific deepfakes, denial of crimes in opposition to humanity and manipulation of an automatic information processing system as a part of an organized group, amongst different prices.

Prosecutors requested Musk and former X CEO Linda Yaccarino to attend "voluntary interviews" on April 20. Staff of X had been summoned that very same week to be heard as witnesses, the assertion mentioned. Yaccarino was CEO from Might 2023 till July 2025.

In a message posted on X, the Paris prosecutors' workplace introduced the continued searches on the firm's places of work in France and mentioned it was leaving the platform.

"At this stage, the conduct of the investigation is predicated on a constructive strategy, with the purpose of finally guaranteeing that the X platform complies with French legislation, because it operates on the nationwide territory," the prosecutors' assertion mentioned.

European Union police company Europol "is supporting the French authorities on this," Europol spokesperson Jan Op Gen Oorth informed The Related Press, with out elaborating.

<img loading="lazy" alt="A truck with a digital billboard that reads "Prime Minister Starmer: Grok is generating AI child porn. What are you waiting for? Shut down Grok and X." drives past U.K. houses of Parliament. " srcset="https://i.cbc.ca/ais/f5b990b6-86fb-437e-9748-f5f0c9a15b43,1770163740163/full/max/0/default.jpg?im=Crop%2Crect%3D%28212%2C464%2C3755%2C2202%29%3BResize%3D796 796w,https://i.cbc.ca/ais/f5b990b6-86fb-437e-9748-f5f0c9a15b43,1770163740163/full/max/0/default.jpg?im=Crop%2Crect%3D%28212%2C464%2C3755%2C2202%29%3BResize%3D1083 1083w,https://i.cbc.ca/ais/f5b990b6-86fb-437e-9748-f5f0c9a15b43,1770163740163/full/max/0/default.jpg?im=Crop%2Crect%3D%28212%2C464%2C3755%2C2202%29%3BResize%3D1280 1280w" sizes="(max-width: 762px) calc(100vw - 32px),730px" src="https://i.cbc.ca/ais/f5b990b6-86fb-437e-9748-f5f0c9a15b43,1770163740163/full/max/0/default.jpg?im=Crop%2Crect%3D%28212%2C464%2C3755%2C2202%29%3B" style="aspect-ratio:1.7052679382379654" data-cy="image-img"/> A billboard organized by company accountability group Eko passes by Westminster urging Prime Minister Keir Starmer to face as much as Elon Musk and ban X and Grok, in London, U.Okay., final month. (Maja Smiejkowska/Reuters) How have X, Musk responded? The corporate defended itself in a press release on the social media platform.

"The Paris Public Prosecutor's Workplace is plainly making an attempt to exert stress on X's senior administration within the United States by concentrating on our French entity and staff, who usually are not the main focus of this investigation," X mentioned in a press release.

"The Prosecutor's Workplace has ignored the established procedural mechanisms to acquire proof in compliance with worldwide treaties and X’s rights to defend itself."

Musk shared the assertion, including, "This can be a political assault."

WATCH | Stopping sharing of deepfakes on X would require laws, legislation prof. says: Ought to Canada crack down on Elon Musk's Grok AI?

Regulation professor Kristen Thomasen says stopping the sharing of non-consensual deepfakes on X will doubtless require authorities laws, warning it is a structural challenge that customers have restricted means to unravel. What different investigations is X going through? Canada's privateness commissioner Philippe Dufresne mentioned final month he's increasing an investigation into X following stories that Grok was getting used to create and share specific photographs of individuals with out their consent.

Malaysia and Indonesia each quickly banned Grok final month, however each bans have since been lifted. Synthetic Intelligence Minister Evan Solomon mentioned final month that Canada isn't contemplating a ban on X — a remark that drew reward from Musk.

In Britain, the Info Commissioner's Workplace mentioned it is trying into whether or not X and xAI adopted the legislation when processing private information and whether or not Grok had any measures in place to stop its use to generate "dangerous manipulated photographs."

"The stories about Grok increase deeply troubling questions on how folks's private information has been used to generate intimate or sexualised photographs with out their information or consent, and whether or not the mandatory safeguards had been put in place to stop this," mentioned William Malcolm, an government director on the watchdog.

A separate investigation into Grok launched final month by the U.Okay. media regulator, Ofcom, is ongoing.

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The European Union's government arm opened an investigation final month over the nonconsensual sexualized deepfake photographs.

The European Fee has already levied a tremendous of €120 million ($194 million Cdn) in opposition to X for shortcomings below the bloc's sweeping digital laws, together with adjustments to the corporate's use of blue checkmarks to point verified accounts that broke the foundations on "misleading design practices" as a result of they risked exposing customers to scams and manipulation.