Social network X suspected of having biased its algorithm for foreign interference in France

By The New Obs with AFP

Published on July 11, 2025 at 6:58 p.m.

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Did the X platform (formerly Twitter) deliberately bias its algorithm to the point of distorting democratic debate in France? The cybercrime section of the Paris prosecutor's office has opened a criminal investigation into the social network, owned by Elon Musk , following accusations of foreign interference.

An investigation was entrusted to the gendarmerie on Wednesday concerning the X network, as a legal entity, and against the "natural persons" who run it, Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau indicated this Friday, July 11, in a press release, without citing the name of its multi-billionaire owner, also the boss of Tesla .

This comes after two reports received on January 12, which "reported the alleged use of the X (formerly Twitter) algorithm for foreign interference purposes," the public prosecutor explained.

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The first came from the Macronist MP for Côtes-d'Armor, Eric Bothorel, a specialist in these matters. He alerted the public prosecutor's office to "the recent changes to X's algorithm, as well as the apparent interference in its management since its acquisition by Elon Musk" in 2022.

He highlighted a "reduction in the diversity of voices and options," a platform that is moving away from a goal of "ensuring a safe and respectful environment for all," a "lack of clarity about the criteria that led to algorithm changes and moderation decisions," as well as "personal interventions by Elon Musk."

In a statement this Friday, Eric Bothorel said he was "very pleased that the French justice system is giving itself the means to fight against this foreign interference." He added: "Democracy is too fragile to let sorcerer's apprentices, owners of digital platforms, tell us what to think, who to vote for, or even who to hate."

According to information from "Le Canard enchaîné" in February, the second report came from a cybersecurity director in the civil service, who was concerned about "a major change in the algorithm used by the X platform which today offers a huge amount of hateful, racist, anti-LGBT+, homophobic political content and which therefore aims to bias the democratic debate in France" .

The public prosecutor's office, which confirmed at the beginning of February that it was studying these reports, indicated in its press release on Friday that it had opened this procedure "on the basis of verifications, contributions from French researchers and elements provided by various public institutions" .

The investigation was entrusted to the General Directorate of the National Gendarmerie, and concerns "in particular" the following offences: tampering with the operation of an automated data processing system by an organised gang, as well as fraudulent extraction of data from an automated data processing system by an organised gang.

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