France accuses X for “offense in organized gang”: Elon Musk refuses to cooperate
Elon Musk, under pressure: the entrepreneur is faced with a French criminal investigation targeting X, his social platform, for suspicions of “offense in organized gang”. © Photo Agency
The information fell in the heart of the summer: The Paris prosecutor’s office opened an investigation aimed at XElon Musk’s platform, for fraudulent data extraction and algorithmic manipulation. In response, Musk screams in witch hunting, speaks of political censorship and refuses all cooperation. Since July 21, the showdown has been launched. And what France requires is no less than access to the central intelligence of the platform.
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Elon Musk in the face of French justice: what the X affair hides
Everything starts from a confidential report transmitted in January, then relayed by the deputy Éric Bothorel. It evokes possible algorithmic manipulations promoting certain political opinions, but also a data collection for unconcluded purposes. Result: the Paris prosecutor’s office has opened an investigation for fraudulent alteration of an automated data processing system in organized band.
French justice does not claim the impossible, according to her. The prosecution specifies:
We only asked for access to the recommendation algorithm. Private user data is not affected.
X, for its part, chose the hard line. On July 21, via an official thread published on the @globalaffairs of the platform account, the company accuses France of authoritarian drift:
“The French authorities have launched a criminal investigation with political motivation against X, relating to an alleged manipulation of his algorithm and a supposed fraudulent extraction of data.[…]X categorically rejects these accusations.
And to push further:
According to the elements we have, X believes that this investigation deforms French law in order to serve a political agenda and, in the long term, restrict freedom of expression.
Finally, the platform concludes:
For these reasons, X did not access the requests of the French authorities, which constitutes a legal right that we exercise.
Elon Musk faced with his responsibilities: X, his platform, is targeted by a French survey for algorithmic manipulation and data extraction. The survey is formally open for an organized gang offense. © Shutershock
Since then, no data has been transmitted. And the case takes a frankly political turn. X castigates experts designated by French justice – researchers David Chavalariaias and Maziyar Panahi – which he describes as “Hostiles” Without appointing them publicly, but that the specialized media identified.
On the basis of article 323-3 of the penal code, the case is processed within the framework of an offense in an organized gang, which allows the French authorities to mobilize powerful investigation tools: searches, listening, or even criminal summons. As we explained to you, The two offenses referred to in the Paris prosecutor’s office are the alteration of the operation and the fraudulent extraction of an automated system, “by an organized group” – a heavy legal basis which gives this survey a very offensive status.
The question asked is simple: can we demand the algorithmic transparency of a foreign platform located in Europe? And can Elon Musk alone set himself up in French justice?
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