Paris, Feb 3 (NationPress) The Paris prosecutor's office announced on Tuesday that the French offices of the social media platform X are undergoing searches as part of an ongoing investigation.

The cybercrime unit of the prosecutor's office is conducting these searches in collaboration with Europol and the National Gendarmerie's cyber unit. This operation is part of an investigation initiated in January 2025.

The inquiry was prompted by a French lawmaker's concerns about alleged biased algorithms used on the X platform, as reported by Xinhua news agency citing France Info.

According to a statement from the Paris prosecutor's office, the scope of the investigation broadened following further complaints that the operation of Grok on X resulted in the spread of Holocaust-denying material and sexually explicit deepfake videos.

Elon Musk, the owner of X, along with former CEO Linda Yaccarino, has been called to a hearing scheduled for April 20, and other staff members of X have also been summoned as witnesses.

In light of this procedure, the Paris prosecutor's office indicated it would distance itself from X and guide the public to its other social media accounts.

In December, the European Commission imposed a hefty fine of €120 million (approximately $140 million) on X for breaching transparency obligations set forth under the EU's Digital Services Act (DSA).

This penalty resulted from three distinct violations of the DSA, including the misleading design of X's blue checkmark, insufficient transparency in its advertising repository, and the platform's failure to grant researchers access to public data, as reported by Xinhua.

The misuse of the 'blue checkmark,' which is available to any user willing to pay, to signify 'verified accounts' has exposed users to scams like impersonation fraud and other manipulations, according to the Commission.

Moreover, it stated that X's advertising repository does not comply with DSA's transparency and accessibility standards, and the platform has also fallen short of its obligation to provide researchers with access to public data.

Elon Musk has criticized the European Union (EU) regarding the fine imposed on his platform for violating transparency regulations, asserting that his response will target the officials responsible for this penalty.

He expressed on X, "The 'EU' imposed this outrageous fine not only on X, but also on me personally, which is even more absurd! Thus, it seems fitting to direct our response not just to the EU, but also to those individuals who took action against me."

He later added, "The EU should be abolished."