US DOJ Rejects French Aid Requests in X Probe

The U.S. Department of Justice has declined to assist French authorities in their criminal investigation into Elon Musk's social media platform X, following a raid on the company's Paris office earlier this year. In a letter dated Friday from the DOJ's Office of International Affairs, U.S. officials rejected multiple requests for cooperation, describing the probe as a politically motivated effort to regulate free expression in violation of the First Amendment.

The investigation, which began in January 2025, stems from complaints by French lawmakers and officials alleging that X's content selection algorithm favored Musk's personal views, potentially amounting to foreign interference in French affairs. Authorities have also examined accusations of complicity in distributing illegal child imagery, creating sexual deepfakes, fraudulent data extraction, and other content moderation failures. In February, French investigators searched X's Paris office as part of the probe, prompting the company to issue a statement calling the action an "abusive act of law enforcement theater" aimed at pressuring U.S.-based executives rather than addressing legitimate issues with local staff.