Elon Musk faces criminal probe in France after ignoring summons in X case
Elon Musk faces criminal probe in France after ignoring summons in X case
埃隆·马斯克无视传唤，在法国面临刑事调查
French prosecutors yesterday opened a criminal investigation into Elon Musk and X, escalating a probe into sexual images of minors and other alleged illegal content on Musk’s social network. 法国检察官昨日对埃隆·马斯克（Elon Musk）及 X 公司展开了刑事调查，进一步升级了针对该社交网络上涉及未成年人性剥削图像及其他涉嫌非法内容的调查。
The action came three months after French law enforcement authorities raided X’s Paris office and summoned Musk for questioning. Prosecutors wanted to interview Musk and former X CEO Linda Yaccarino in April, but they did not appear. 此前，法国执法部门曾突击搜查了 X 位于巴黎的办公室，并传唤马斯克接受问询，此次行动距离该事件已过去三个月。检察官原计划在四月份对马斯克及 X 前首席执行官琳达·亚卡里诺（Linda Yaccarino）进行问询，但两人并未现身。
The earlier request to interview Musk and Yaccarino was described as voluntary. Authorities are now seeking to compel them to appear for questioning with the threat of criminal charges. In addition to sexual images of minors, the investigation involves Grok’s dissemination of Holocaust-denial claims and sexually explicit deepfakes. 此前对马斯克和亚卡里诺的问询请求被描述为“自愿性质”。而现在，当局正以刑事指控为威胁，强制要求他们出庭接受问询。除了未成年人性剥削图像外，调查还涉及 AI 模型 Grok 传播否认大屠杀的言论以及性露骨的深度伪造（deepfake）内容。
“Prosecutors said Thursday that the probe was now an official criminal investigation,” The Wall Street Journal wrote. Musk and Yaccarino were invited “to respond to preliminary charges against them. If either Musk or Yaccarino fails to appear, they can be slapped with the preliminary criminal charges in their absence, the prosecutors said.” 据《华尔街日报》报道：“检察官周四表示，该调查现已转为正式的刑事调查。”马斯克和亚卡里诺被邀请“对针对他们的初步指控作出回应。检察官称，如果马斯克或亚卡里诺未能出庭，他们可能会在缺席的情况下被处以初步刑事指控。”
The office of Paris public prosecutor Laure Beccuau announced the move in a press release yesterday. The office said it asked investigating judges to charge X Corp., xAI, Musk, and Yaccarino “by summoning them for this purpose and to gather their comments, or, in the event of non-compliance, by issuing a warrant equivalent to an indictment,” Le Monde reported. 巴黎检察官劳尔·贝库（Laure Beccuau）办公室昨日通过新闻稿宣布了这一举措。据《世界报》报道，该办公室已请求预审法官对 X Corp.、xAI、马斯克及亚卡里诺提起指控，“通过传唤他们以收集陈述；若对方不配合，则将发出等同于起诉书的逮捕令。”
The investigation “aims to uphold the law and to protect individuals who have been victims of criminal offenses, both online and in real life,” the prosecutor’s office said. X previously “refused to comply with a court order to hand over its algorithm,” according to Le Monde. 检察官办公室表示，此次调查“旨在维护法律，并保护在网络及现实生活中遭受犯罪侵害的个人”。据《世界报》报道，X 此前曾“拒绝遵守法院移交其算法的命令”。
“This is a new stage in the proceedings,” MP Eric Bothorel was quoted as saying in the Le Monde article. “I do not think that failing to appear for a judicial summons was a good defense strategy. I am pleased that the justice system in my country is taking this issue seriously.” Bothorel made a report to prosecutors that led to the opening of a preliminary investigation in January 2025, Le Monde said. 《世界报》援引议员埃里克·博托雷尔（Eric Bothorel）的话称：“这是诉讼程序的新阶段。我认为无视司法传唤并非明智的辩护策略。我很高兴我国的司法系统正在严肃对待这一问题。”据《世界报》称，正是博托雷尔向检察官提交的报告，促使该案于 2025 年 1 月开启了初步调查。
The process may be nowhere near the finish line. In France, “once preliminary charges have been filed, an investigating magistrate conducts an investigation that can last months or even years before deciding whether to send the accused to trial or drop the case,” the WSJ wrote. 这一过程可能远未结束。《华尔街日报》写道，在法国，“一旦初步指控被提出，预审法官将进行调查，该过程可能持续数月甚至数年，之后才会决定是将被告送上法庭审判还是撤销案件。”
After the raid in February, X called the probe “a politicized criminal investigation” and “an abusive act of law enforcement theater designed to achieve illegitimate political objectives rather than advance legitimate law enforcement goals rooted in the fair and impartial administration of justice.” Musk called it “a political attack.” 在二月份的搜查之后，X 称该调查是“政治化的刑事调查”，是“一种滥用执法权力的表演，旨在实现非法的政治目的，而非推进基于公平公正司法原则的合法执法目标”。马斯克则称其为“政治攻击”。
The US Justice Department last month told French authorities that they would not help them investigate Musk and X, and accused them of trying to “entangle the United States in a politically charged criminal proceeding aimed at wrongfully regulating through prosecution the business activities of a social media platform.” 美国司法部上个月告知法国当局，他们不会协助调查马斯克和 X，并指责法国方面试图“将美国卷入一场充满政治色彩的刑事诉讼中，其目的是通过起诉来不正当地监管社交媒体平台的商业活动。”
Beccuau’s office has said the potential crimes being investigated include complicity in possession and distribution of pornographic images of minors; infringement of personal image rights via sexual deepfakes; denial of crimes against humanity; insecure handling of personal data; and operation of an online platform to facilitate illicit transactions. 贝库办公室表示，正在调查的潜在罪名包括：共谋持有和传播未成年人色情图像；通过性深度伪造侵犯个人肖像权；否认反人类罪；不安全处理个人数据；以及运营促进非法交易的在线平台。