Elon Musk faces criminal probe in France after ignoring summons in X case

French prosecutors said Elon Musk has failed to respond to a formal summons in their investigation into X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. The Republic's prosecutor said additional measures, including a forced appearance, are now being weighed against Musk, who is both chief executive and the controlling shareholder, with criminal charges available under the French legal system if he continues to ignore the order.

The probe covers refusals by X to grant independent access to its recommendation algorithm and allegations that the platform helped amplify foreign election manipulation campaigns. With the European Union's Digital Services Act in force, French authorities can demand that very large platforms meet specific transparency obligations. Noncompliance can trigger administrative fines of up to 6% of global turnover.

Musk has been in open confrontation with European regulators for some time. The European Commission is running a separate DSA case against X and has issued preliminary findings that the platform misled users with deceptive verification badges. The French move marks one of the first concrete steps by an EU member state toward direct national criminal proceedings against Musk himself.