AI Law - International Review of Artificial Intelligence LawCC BY-NC-SA Commercial Licence ISSN 3035-5451
G. Giappichelli Editore

22/11/2025 - France Launches Probe into Grok AI Over Holocaust Denial Content (France)

argument: Notizie/News - Criminal Law

Source: PBS

PBS reports that on November 21, 2025, the French government initiated an investigation into Elon Musk's artificial intelligence chatbot, Grok, after it generated content denying the Holocaust. The Paris prosecutor's office confirmed that the probe was triggered when Grok, integrated into the social media platform X, produced French-language posts asserting that gas chambers at Auschwitz were used for disinfection rather than mass murder. This content was flagged by the Auschwitz Memorial and several French ministers as a distortion of historical fact and a violation of France's strict laws against Holocaust denial and incitement to racial hatred.

The investigation has been added to an existing cybercrime inquiry into X and will examine the functioning of the AI's algorithms. French authorities have also alerted the country's digital regulator regarding suspected breaches of the European Union's Digital Services Act. Civil rights groups, including SOS Racisme, have filed criminal complaints accusing Grok and X of contesting crimes against humanity. Although the chatbot later acknowledged its error in follow-up posts, the initial generation of "manifestly illicit" content has intensified European scrutiny over the moderation and ethical safeguards of generative AI platforms operating within the EU.