- Paris cybercrime prosecutors summon police to billionaire Elon Musk’s social network X on suspicion of foreign interference
- “Democratic governments must allow all voices to be heard, not silence those they don’t like,” the US State Department responds.
WASHINGTON: US officials on Friday strongly condemned France’s criminal investigation into billionaire Elon Musk’s social media site X over allegations of foreign interference.
“As part of a criminal investigation, an activist French prosecutor requests information about X’s own algorithm and classifies X as an ‘organized crime group,’” the State Department’s Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor wrote on its X account.
“Democratic governments must allow all voices to be heard, not suppress speech they don’t like. The United States will protect the free speech of all Americans from acts of foreign censorship.”
Paris cybercrime prosecutors called on July 11 for a police investigation to look into alleged crimes including manipulation and extraction of data from automated systems “as part of a criminal group.”
Last week, the social network denied the accusations, calling them “politically motivated.”
X also said it refused to comply with the prosecutor’s request for access to its recommendation algorithm and real-time data.
The investigation was launched after two complaints filed in January alleged that the X algorithm was used for foreign interference in French politics.
One of the complaints came from Eric Botorell, a lawmaker for President Emmanuel Macron’s centrist party, who lamented the “reduction of diversity of voices and options” and Musk’s “personal interference” in the management of the platform since he took control.
X said he “categorically denies” all the allegations and that the investigation “distorts French law to achieve political ends and ultimately limits freedom of speech.”
Tesla and SpaceX chief Musk has sparked outrage with his forays into European politics, including his active support for the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party ahead of February’s legislative elections.
“Democracy is too fragile to allow digital platform owners to tell us what to think, who to vote for, or even who to hate,” Botorel said after the investigation was announced.