An investigation into the operation of social media platform X has been opened in Paris, broadcaster Franceinfo reported Friday, February 7. In the sights of the French investigators is the functioning of X's algorithms, "likely to have distorted the operation of an automated data processing system." The investigation has been entrusted to the Paris cybercrime unit (J3), whose "specialized judges and assistants (...) are carrying out initial technical checks," said the prosecutor's office.
The opening of this investigation follows a report filed on January 12 by MP Eric Bothorel. In his letter, which Le Monde was able to access, Bothorel expressed his "deep concerns about recent algorithm changes on the (Twitter) X platform, as well as apparent interference in its management since its acquisition by Elon Musk." A second, similar alert – revealed by Le Canard Enchaîné and which Le Monde was able to consult – was also made by a cybersecurity director working in the civil service. They denounced changes to X's algorithm having led to an over-representation of "nauseating political content."
At the heart of this investigation lies a legal innovation. Bothorel's alert is largely based on an analysis published on February 6 by legal expert and law professor Michel Séjean. In the specialized journal Dalloz, Séjean argued that under French law, distorting the operation of a recommendation algorithm on a social media platform can be punishable by the same penalties as computer hacking. According to this analysis, manipulating a platform's algorithm without the users' knowledge would be punishable under Article 323-2 of the French penal code, which punishes "hindering or distorting the operation of an automated data processing system." Until now, this article has been used exclusively to punish data theft and other forms of computer piracy.
Since its takeover by Musk, X is suspected of having modified its algorithms to give greater prominence to certain content – notably posts from Musk. On January 9, French MEP Aurore Lalucq also reported the social network, this time to the French Regulatory Authority for Audiovisual and Digital Communication (ARCOM) on the grounds of the Digital Services Act. Lalucq mentioned a possible manipulation of the platform's recommendation algorithm by its owner "to favor the propagation of its own messages, to the detriment of its users' content and in the service of its personal interests and ideas."
Musk invited to Paris
More broadly, the platform is also suspected by the European Commission of having manipulated, through its content recommendation system, "public debate in Europe." An investigation has been opened at the European level, as Musk has for several months been stepping up his messages and actions in support of several European far-right movements, and in particular the German Alternativ für Deutschland (AfD) party, which is polling well for the February 23 legislative elections.
The opening of the French investigation comes as the Artificial Intelligence Action Summit is about to get underway in Paris on February 10, to which Musk has been invited – although his presence has not yet been confirmed.
At the end of August 2024, the head of the Telegram messaging service, Pavel Durov, was arrested on arrival at Le Bourget airport, near Paris. Durov was suspected of a series of offenses relating mainly to his platform's failure to cooperate with law enforcement and shortcomings in its moderation. In this case, coordinated by the J3 cybercrime unit, Durov was charged on August 28 and banned from leaving French territory pending trial.