By Juliette Jabkhiro and Dominique Patton
PARIS, April 20 (Reuters) - French prosecutors were waiting to see if tech billionaire Elon Musk would respond to a summons to appear before them on Monday for questioning as part of an investigation into X and its AI chatbot Grok in a probe related to fraudulent data extraction.
It was not clear if Musk would attend the hearing and there was no sign of him at the main Paris courthouse. The date had been set in February when the Paris prosecutor's cybercrime unit raided the French office of social media platform X, which is owned by Musk.
The probe, which has further strained relations between the U.S. and Europe over Big Tech and free speech, was later expanded to include suspected complicity in the distribution of child pornography and the creation of sexual deepfakes by Grok.
While attendance at Monday's hearing is mandatory, the authorities at this stage cannot compel Musk, the world's richest man, to appear. Reuters could not reach representatives for Musk ahead of the summons. In July, Musk denied the initial accusations and said French prosecutors were launching a "politically-motivated criminal investigation". The Paris prosecutor's office declined to comment.
X has come under scrutiny from regulators and governments in several countries since Musk's takeover of the platform, with authorities examining issues including content moderation, data practices and compliance with local laws.
Prosecutors have said the French investigation centres on allegations X’s algorithms distorted the treatment of content on the platform, that it improperly extracted user data and that it violated individuals' rights with sexually explicit deepfakes.
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In a sign of the potential for the investigation to worsen already tense relations with Washington, the Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday that the U.S. Justice Department sent a letter to the Paris prosecutor saying it would not cooperate in the probe, which it viewed as politically motivated.
The Paris prosecutor said it had no knowledge of such a letter, and added that "the French constitution guarantees the separation of powers and the independence of the judiciary."
Musk has been summoned for a "voluntary interview". It means the authorities want to question someone but without arresting that person. Prosecutors have no authority to use force to compel the person to appear, but if the person fails to respond to the summons, they may decide to place them in police custody.
"It is preferable to justify one’s refusal and ensure that it is not perceived as an obstacle to the investigation," said criminal defence lawyer Julia Bombardier. "For example, by ensuring that certain representatives are interviewed."
Former X CEO Linda Yaccarino and several other X staff have also been summoned as witnesses for questioning.
The French cybercrime unit leading the X investigation unit previously arrested Telegram founder Pavel Durov in 2024 over charges including complicity in organised crime carried out on the messaging app, charges his lawyer has described as "absurd".
Durov posted on X overnight on Monday that "France is losing legitimacy as it weaponizes criminal investigations to suppress free speech and privacy."
U.S. President Donald Trump has often accused Europe of treating U.S. big tech companies unfairly through the use of fines, taxes and regulation.
(Reporting by Dominique Patton and Juliette Jabkhiro; Editing by Richard Lough, Kate Mayberry and Susan Fenton)
