X Decided Not to Comply with the French Investigation

Social media company X said that the criminal investigation launched by French authorities is politically motivated. Therefore, X said it will not comply with the probe and denied all allegations.

In a post on its Global Government Affairs handle, X responded to a probe launched by the Paris prosecutor’s office last week to investigate suspected abuse of algorithms and fraudulent data extraction by the company and its executives. X stated that it remains in the dark as to the specific allegations made against the platform, but based on what it knows so far, it believes the investigation is distorting French law to serve a political agenda and, ultimately, restrict free speech.

The company explained that French authorities had requested access to its recommendation algorithm and real-time data about all user posts on the platform for experts to analyze the data and purportedly uncover the truth about the operation of the X platform. One of the experts in question is French politician Eric Bothorel, who heads up French public institution Escape X, which X said is dedicated to encouraging users to leave the platform.

Another expert is Maziyar Panahi, who has previously participated in research projects with Bothorel and has been known to, as X stated, demonstrate open hostility towards the social network. “The involvement of these individuals raises serious concerns about the impartiality, fairness, and political motivations of the investigation, to put it charitably. A predetermined outcome is not a fair one,” added X’s post.