US Criticizes France's Investigation into X as "Foreign Censorship"

The United States has criticized, in strong terms, the French prosecution's investigation into its domestic company X (formerly Twitter).

On July 25 (local time), the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor at the U.S. Department of State stated in a post on X, "As part of a criminal investigation, a prosecutor in France with activist leanings requested information about X's proprietary algorithm and classified X as an 'organized crime group.'

The statement continued, "Democratic governments must allow all voices to be heard and should not silence speech they dislike," emphasizing, "The United States will defend the freedom of expression of all Americans against acts of foreign censorship."

Earlier this month, French prosecutors launched a full-scale investigation into X on charges of 'algorithmic bias and fraudulent data extraction.' Police were deployed to investigate illegal acts by the company or its executives.

The investigation began after two complaints were filed in January of this year, alleging that X's algorithm was used for foreign interference in French politics.

Eric Bothorel, a member of the French ruling party Renaissance and one of the complainants, argued, "X's biased algorithm may have distorted the operation of the automated data processing system."

However, X has pushed back, stating, "This investigation is 'politically motivated' and ultimately restricts freedom of the press," adding, "We will not cooperate with the French investigation."

X is owned by Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla. Musk has been active as an influential figure in the Donald Trump administration and has shown involvement in European politics, including expressing support for the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.