In a case related to Grok generating sexually explicit deepfakes, Paris prosecutor’s cybercrime unit has searched the Paris office of X along with French police’s cybercrime unit and Europol.
In a case related to Grok generating sexually explicit deepfakes, Paris prosecutor’s cybercrime unit on Tuesday launched searches at the Paris office of X along with French police and Europol, the European Union’s (EU) law-enforcement cooperation agency.
“A search is being conducted at X’s French offices by the Paris prosecutor’s office’s cybercrime unit, together with the National Cyber Unit of the Gendarmerie and Europol, as part of the investigation opened in January 2025,” the prosecutor’s office said in a statement on X.
In recent weeks, Grok has been condemned and scrutinised worldwide for letting users generate sexually explicit deepfakes of real persons without their consent.
As part of the investigation, the prosecutor’s office has also summoned X owner Elon Musk and former CEO Linda Yaccarino for voluntary interviews on April 20, the prosecutor’s office said in a press release.
“At this stage, the conduct of this investigation is part of a constructive approach, with the aim of ultimately ensuring that the X platform complies with French law, insofar as it operates within the national territory,” the release said.
Since December, scores of users —most of them females— have reported that Grok has published their photos after digitally removing their clothes through artificial intelligence (AI) at the request of X users.
The Paris prosector had opened an investigation into the matter last month. Two French lawmakers, Arthur Delaporte and Eric Bothorel, also filed formal complaints with the prosecutor last month. The investigation followed another investigation last year over Grok’s antisemitic tirade.
Separately, the EU has also opened an investigation under the EU’s rulebook for online platforms said it is exploring a ban on apps under the AI law.
Starting in December, X users flooded the platform’s chatbot, Grok, with requests to generate photographs of real persons after removing their clothes or putting them in bikinis or showing them in sexual positions.
In just nine days, Grok posted more than 4.4 million images and 44 per cent of them likely contained sexually explicit images of women, according to an analysis by The New York Times and Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH).
A broader analysis by CCDH found that around 65 per cent of these images contained sexually explicit images — of men, women, and children.
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