DOJ Refuses to Aid France’s Censorship Probe of X Platform

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Justice Department has rejected French authorities’ requests for assistance in a criminal investigation targeting Elon Musk’s X platform, calling it an improper attempt to regulate a U.S. company in violation of the First Amendment.

In a two-page letter dated April 18, 2026, from the DOJ’s Office of International Affairs, officials stated: “This investigation seeks to use the criminal legal system in France to regulate a public square for the free expression of ideas and opinions in a manner contrary to the First Amendment of the United States Constitution.” The letter added that France’s repeated requests “constitute an effort 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.”

French prosecutors launched the probe in early 2025 and raided X’s Paris office in February. They have sought U.S. help multiple times this year, including efforts to serve summonses on Musk and other executives for “voluntary interviews.” Allegations include algorithmic bias, deepfakes, and dissemination of content banned under French law, such as Holocaust denial.

X dismissed the investigation as baseless. A company spokesperson said: “We are grateful to the Justice Department for rejecting this effort by a prosecutor in Paris to compel our CEO and several employees to sit for interviews. We hope the Parisian authorities will now come to their senses, recognize that there is no wrongdoing here, and terminate their baseless investigation.”

Paris prosecutors said they were unaware of the DOJ letter and stressed the independence of the French judiciary.

The standoff highlights France’s ongoing push against U.S.-based social media platforms. Since Musk acquired Twitter in 2022, renamed it X, and ended prior content moderation practices, the platform has faced increased scrutiny from European governments hostile to unrestricted speech, particularly conservative viewpoints.

For Americans who value First Amendment protections, the DOJ’s firm stance prevents foreign governments from using criminal probes to impose censorship on U.S. companies operating as public forums.