US Department of Justice refused to assist France in investigation against social network X and Elon Musk
Kyiv • UNN
The US rejected the request for assistance due to the protection of freedom of speech and the First Amendment. France is investigating algorithm abuse and illegal data collection on X.
The US Department of Justice has rejected a request from French law enforcement agencies for assistance in investigating the activities of the company and its owner, Elon Musk. This was reported by Reuters, citing The Wall Street Journal, writes UNN.
Details
The American side cited the protection of freedom of speech as the reason for the refusal. A letter from the US Department of Justice's Office of International Affairs dated April 17 states that the efforts of the Paris prosecutor's office contradict the First Amendment to the US Constitution.
The American agency believes that France is trying to use criminal justice to regulate "a public platform for the free expression of ideas and opinions."
The investigation against X in France has been ongoing for over a year. In February of this year, prosecutors searched the company's French office. The main claims concern alleged algorithm abuse and illegal extraction of user data. Law enforcement also demanded Elon Musk's personal participation in interrogations, but these attempts are now blocked by the US.
A representative of xAI stated that the company is grateful to the US Department of Justice for refusing to assist the French prosecutor's attempt to interrogate the management, and expressed hope that the investigation will be terminated as groundless.