OX, the social network of American businessman Elon Musk, said on Monday (21) that he will not collaborate with a criminal investigation about the platform in France, claiming that she has “political motivation.”
In a post, the X Global Government Affairs Account claimed that the French authorities requested access to the platform’s recommendation algorithm and real -time data on all users’ posts in France.
According to information from France 24, prosecutors of Paris intensified a preliminary investigation on X, alleging indications of bias in the social network algorithm and fraudulent data extraction.
Based on this, police can conduct search, staples and surveillance against executives of the company, call them to testify and request arrest warrants if they do not collaborate with the investigations.
“Ox categorically denies these allegations,” said Musk’s global governmental affairs account.
“This investigation, instigated by the French politician Eric Bothorel [deputado pelo Renascimento, partido do presidente Emmanuel Macron]mine flagrantly the fundamental right of X to due process of law and threatens the rights of our users to privacy and freedom of expression. Mr. Bothorel accused the X of manipulating his algorithm for ‘foreign interference’ purposes, a completely false allegation, ”he added.
Ox claimed in the post that the request of the French authorities was presented with the argument that the data will be evaluated by “experts”, but Elon Musk’s social network claimed that such professionals would be biased.
He cited as examples David Chavalarias, who led a campaign to encourage X users to abandon the platform, and Maziyar Panahi, who previously participated in scowl research projects “that demonstrate open hostility in relation to X”.
“Ox is unaware of specific allegations made against the platform. However, based on what we know so far, the X believes that this investigation is distorting the French law to comply with a political agenda and ultimately restrict freedom of expression,” he said.
“For these reasons, the X did not give in to the demands of the French authorities, as we have the legal right to do,” said the platform. “OX is committed to defending their fundamental rights, protecting user data and resisting political censorship.”
The Paris Prosecutor’s Office did not comment on the X accusations, but confirmed that it made a request to the platform, which would be related only to the algorithm. In a statement, Bothorel claimed that the French judiciary is independent.
“It is a concept that seems completely inverted in the United States at the moment,” said the deputy, who claimed that France is committed to freedom of expression, but not without limits. “The absence of responsibility and supervision endangers freedom as well as prohibitions and censorship,” he argued.
