France has launched a criminal investigation into Elon Musk’s social media platform X (formerly Twitter), marking a serious escalation in Europe’s ongoing clash with Big Tech over content moderation, misinformation, and political interference. The probe, announced on July 12 by Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau, will examine whether algorithms used by X were deliberately manipulated to promote hate speech, polarize political discourse, and potentially interfere in France’s democratic processes.

Although Beccuau did not name Elon Musk directly, the investigation will scrutinize the platform’s internal moderation policies, algorithmic behavior, and the role played by its leadership in shaping user experience and amplifying specific content. The charges stem from two formal complaints filed in January by a French legislator and a cybersecurity official, both of whom claim that changes made to the platform’s algorithms have had a corrosive impact on public debate in France.

One of the central accusations in the case is that X’s algorithms are not merely failing to prevent harmful content but may actively be promoting it. According to Eric Bothorel, a member of the National Assembly from President Emmanuel Macron’s Ensemble party, the platform’s “reduction in the diversity of voices and options” is creating an echo chamber of extremism. Bothorel contends that this algorithmic bias is not incidental, but rather part of a deeper pattern of interference that “poses a real danger and a threat to our democracies.”

Bothorel’s complaint further alleges that the moderation model employed by X is opaque and highly centralized, allowing for unchecked decisions by Musk........

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