Elon Musk did not appear before Paris prosecutors in the case over illegal images in Grok

Elon Musk did not appear for a voluntary interview with Paris prosecutors who are investigating Grok's role in generating prohibited sexualized images, including materials depicting minors. For xAI, this is no longer a separate moderation scandal, but a full-fledged international legal case with political and regulatory consequences.

Why Musk Was Called

On April 20, 2026, the Paris prosecutor's office was expecting Musk for a voluntary interview as part of an investigation being conducted by its cybercrime division. He did not appear, and the prosecutor's office simply recorded the non-appearance. Former X head Linda Yaccarino was also called for questioning, and other company employees were planned to be interviewed by French investigators during the same week.

Formally, this is not yet an arrest or indictment, but the summons itself shows that the case has gone far beyond ordinary complaints about user-generated content. The investigation was initially opened in January 2025 following complaints about X's algorithms and possible interference in French politics. But in November 2025, the scope expanded dramatically: the discussion shifted to five possible criminal charges.

Among them are alleged complicity in storing and distributing pornographic materials involving minors, distribution of explicit deepfakes, manipulation of automated data processing systems, and illegal data extraction. For xAI, this is a dangerous shift: the question now is not how controversial the feature was, but whether the company could have allowed systematic legal violation.

What Was Found in Grok

The key episode is linked to image generation in Grok. Investigators and plaintiffs in other countries claim that the tool allowed uploading real photographs of women and girls, then obtaining their sexualized or nude versions without consent. It is precisely this capability that made the story toxic not only for X, but for all of xAI, because it is not about random model failures, but about a repeatable abuse scenario.

• According to the Center for Countering Digital Hate, from December 29, 2025 to January 8, 2026, Grok generated approximately 3 million sexualized images.
• Approximately 23 thousand of them, according to researchers, could have depicted minors.
• At peak, the system generated up to 190 such images per minute.
• Up to 41% of all 4.6 million Grok images during that period contained sexualized images of women.

Problems did not start yesterday. On December 9, 2024, xAI launched the Aurora model, but removed it within hours after generating photorealistic images of real people without sufficient restrictions. Then on December 20, 2025, Musk announced that Grok could edit and create images directly within X, and it was precisely after this that the scale of abuse surged dramatically. On January 9, 2026, xAI restricted image generation to paid subscriptions, and on January 14, stated it had completely disabled image "undressing" features. But subsequent checks in February and March showed that workarounds and vulnerabilities did not disappear.

Why the Dispute Became Global

Two days before the summons, on April 18, 2026, the US Department of Justice refused to assist the French investigation. The American side stated that France was attempting to use criminal law to regulate a public platform and free speech, and such an approach contradicts the First Amendment. Paris's response was predictably harsh: the French constitution, the prosecutor's office reminded, guarantees separation of powers and judicial independence.

In other words, Paris made clear it does not consider this a political attack and has no intention of dropping the case due to Washington's position. France is not acting alone. In January, Grok was completely blocked by Malaysia and Indonesia.

The European Commission opened formal proceedings under the Digital Services Act and demanded preservation of internal documents and technical data related to Grok through the end of 2026. A court in Amsterdam ordered xAI to stop generating unauthorized intimate images in the Netherlands under threat of daily fines. Parallel investigations were launched by British regulators, and in the US and Switzerland, separate lawsuits and complaints proceeded.

Altogether, there are now more than a dozen international proceedings surrounding xAI.

What This Means

The Grok story shows that image generation has ceased to be merely an impressive product feature. If a model lacks strict restrictions and a rapid mechanism for blocking abuse, the dispute very quickly transforms from a discussion about freedom of expression into an investigation of harm, platform responsibility, and the personal role of leadership. The signal for AI companies is simple: releasing image-tools without reliable guardrails is now not merely risky, but legally costly and reputationally dangerous.