Social media platform X has accused French cybercrime prosecutors of launching a “politically-motivated criminal investigation” against it that threatens free speech.
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Political Probe
The Elon Musk-led company was responding today to news that Paris prosecutors had ramped up their preliminary probe into X, which began in early July, for suspected algorithmic bias and ‘fraudulent data extraction’, or scraping as it is otherwise known. They have now, reportedly, asked the French police to investigate any wrongdoing by the company or its executives.
The move followed two complaints received in January about “foreign interference” in French politics via X.
On its Global Government Affairs account, it said Paris prosecutors had requested that it hand over “recommendation algorithm and real-time data about all user posts on the platform.”
However, X denied all the allegations and said it would not comply with the probe.
“X remains in the dark as to the specific allegations made against the platform. However, based on what we know so far, X believes that this investigation is distorting French law in order to serve a political agenda and, ultimately, restrict free speech,” it said. “We have not acceded to the French authorities’ demands.”
Musk Troubles
Musk has been critical of European governments before for what he perceives as cracking down on free speech online and the progress of technology. He has also praised certain far-right parties and politicians on the continent. This includes Alternative for Germany and the U.K.’s Tommy Robinson.
This will be another blow, however, for Musk, whose other main interests such as EV maker Tesla (TSLA) and satellite group Starlink have come under pressure from poor sales and threatened government subsidy cuts. This resulted from Musk’s very public falling out with President Trump.
Investors in Tesla have been concerned that Musk’s involvement in politics has meant he has lost focus on not just the EV maker but his other interests such as X. The Tesla share price has crashed 18.3% this year.
Is TSLA a Good Stock to Buy Now?
X is a private company, so let’s take a look at Tesla stock. On TipRanks, it has a Hold consensus based on 13 Buy, 13 Hold and 8 Sell ratings. Its highest price target is $500. TSLA stock’s consensus price target is $300.26 implying a 9.06% downside.
