On July 11th, local time, the Paris prosecutor’s office announced a press release stating that social media platform X (formerly Twitter) has been reported to be manipulating algorithms for foreign interference. The Paris prosecutor’s office has initiated an investigation in response.
The press release revealed that a French National Assembly member and a senior official had reported X platform. After reviewing opinions from French researchers and materials provided by various public institutions, the Paris prosecutor’s office transferred the case to the National Gendarmerie on July 9th for investigation into the entity X platform and its related individuals.
The investigation will focus on two suspected criminal acts: the systematic disruption of the normal operation of automatic data processing systems and the organized illegal extraction of data from these systems.
According to Le Monde, the whistleblower suspects that the American entrepreneur Elon Musk’s X platform is manipulating its content recommendation algorithm, deliberately highlighting right-wing content and increasing the exposure of specific candidates in recent European elections.
The report mentioned that the two crimes targeted by the investigation are serious offenses under cybercrime laws, with maximum penalties of 10 years in prison and a fine of 300,000 euros.