Elon Musk’s X on Monday denied allegations made by French authorities as part of a criminal investigation into alleged data tampering, adding that it would not submit to the prosecutor’s demand to hand over data.
X’s global government affairs account said the French investigation, which ramped up this month, is “politically-motivated” and designed to “restrict free speech.”
“French authorities have launched a politically-motivated criminal investigation into X over the alleged manipulation of its algorithm and alleged “fraudulent data extraction,” X said in a post on the social media platform. “X categorically denies these allegations.”
French prosecutors started an investigation in January over allegations that the company’s algorithm was being used for the purposes of foreign interference. The probe began after two complaints — one from a French member of parliament and another from a senior official at a public institution.
This month, the investigation was handed over to a key unit of France’s national police. Prosecutors said the investigation would focus on investigating offences of tampering with automated data systems as well as the fraudulent extraction of data from these systems.
“French authorities have requested access to X’s recommendation algorithm and real-time data about all user posts on the platform in order for several ‘experts’ to analyze the data and purportedly ‘uncover the truth’ about the operation of the X platform,” X said.
Musk’s social media platform also said it, “remains in the dark as to the specific allegations made” against it.
“However, based on what we know so far, X believes that this investigation is distorting French law in order to serve a political agenda and, ultimately, restrict free speech,” X said.
“For these reasons, X has not acceded to the French authorities’ demands, as we have a legal right to do. This is not a decision that X takes lightly. However, in this case, the facts speak for themselves.”
In an email to CNBC, a spokesperson for the Paris prosecutor’s office said that it had requested that X provide its algorithm, but not access to private data, in order for investigators to “carry out a technical verification of the elements” highlighted by experts and researchers in regard to the way data is handled.
According to French law, “investigators are bound by secrecy and that only those in charge of the investigation will have access to it,” the spokesperson said.
X will have a “secure process” to communicate with “guarantees of confidentiality,” the spokesperson added.
In its statement, X took fire at two specific individuals. The company claimed the two “experts” who will review X’s algorithm are David Chavalarias, director of the Paris Complex Systems Institute (ISC-PIF) and Maziyar Panahi, an AI platform leader at ISC-PIF.
X noted Chavalarias runs a campaign called “Escape X” which encourages users to leave the social media platform, and said Panahi “has previously participated in research projects with David Chavalarias that demonstrate open hostility towards X.” Both researchers have indeed been named on a research paper related to X.
“The involvement of these individuals raises serious concerns about the impartiality, fairness, and political motivations of the investigation, to put it charitably. A predetermined outcome is not a fair one,” X said.
CNBC has reached out to both Chavalarias and Panahi, and has yet to receive a comment on X’s statement.