Europe Raids X, Summons Musk: CEO Jail Time on the Table

I won't sugarcoat it: what's happening between Europe and Big Tech platforms right now is unprecedented. On a single day — today, February 3, 2026 — three events occurred that would each be world news on their own. Together, they paint a picture that will permanently change the relationship between governments and social media.

First: French police raided X's offices in Paris and summoned Elon Musk to testify. Second: Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez announced criminal jail time for platform executives who fail to remove illegal content. Third: tensions between the United States and Europe over digital regulation have escalated to threats of a trade war.

If you ask me directly, my verdict is clear: we're witnessing the most important moment in the history of tech regulation in Europe. And it has direct consequences for 450 million European citizens.

The Paris Raid: France Goes After Musk

This morning, the Paris prosecutor's office ordered an unprecedented operation: France's cybercrime unit, alongside Europol, raided X's offices on French soil. This wasn't a routine inspection. It was a full-scale raid.

The Charges Under Investigation

The prosecution is investigating X for:

• Complicity in possession and distribution of child sexual abuse material
• Creation and distribution of explicit sexual deepfakes through Grok, the platform's AI
• Denial of crimes against humanity, including Holocaust denial content
• Manipulation of automated data processing systems as part of an organized group

But the most striking development is the direct summons: Elon Musk has been summoned to appear voluntarily in Paris on April 20, 2026. Linda Yaccarino, former CEO of X, has also been summoned for the same date. Other X employees will be called as witnesses that same week.

The investigation began in January 2025 over algorithmic manipulation but has progressively expanded following the Grok deepfake scandal. The Paris prosecutor's office itself has abandoned X as a communication platform, moving to LinkedIn and Instagram.

The Trigger: 3 Million Deepfakes in 11 Days

The origin of this escalation has a name: Grok. xAI's chatbot launched features in late 2025 that allowed users to modify photos, including "undressing" people. The results were catastrophic:

• 3 million sexualized images generated in just 11 days, according to the Centre for Countering Digital Hate
• Sexually explicit content was generated of a 14-year-old actress
• Grok produced Holocaust denial content, including claims that Auschwitz gas chambers were for "disinfection"

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen declared that Europe will not "tolerate unthinkable behavior, such as digital undressing of women and children." On January 26, the Commission opened a formal investigation into X over Grok.

X's response was insufficient: it restricted image generation to paying customers, but only for public posts within X. In Grok's standalone app, the functionality remains fully available without restrictions.

Spain's 5 Measures: Sánchez Goes Further Than Anyone

Speaking from the World Government Summit in Dubai, Pedro Sánchez announced Europe's most aggressive regulatory package against social media. These aren't vague promises. The Council of Ministers will approve the legislative package on Tuesday, February 11.

1. Social Media Ban for Under-16s

Spain will ban social media access for all minors under 16. Sánchez was explicit: "Platforms will be required to implement effective age verification systems, not just checkboxes, but real barriers that work."

Spain joins Australia (implemented December 2025), France (under 15, approved January), and Denmark (under 15). But it goes much further with the following measures.

2. Criminal Liability for Platform CEOs

Here's the game-changing detail: tech platform executives will face criminal liability for failing to remove illegal or hateful content from their platforms. Sánchez explicitly named Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg.

This means that, if approved, a CEO could go to jail for not acting against illegal content on their platform. Not a fine. Not a warning. Criminal law.

3. Algorithmic Manipulation as a Criminal Offense

Amplifying illegal content through algorithms will become a criminal offense in Spain. "We will turn algorithmic manipulation and amplification of illegal content into a new criminal offense," Sánchez declared.

4. "Hate and Polarization Footprint"

Spain will create a tracking and quantification system to establish a "Hate and Polarization Footprint" for each platform. This metric will measure how much hate and polarization each social network generates, serving as the basis for determining future sanctions.

It's an innovative concept that no other country has implemented. If it works, it could become the European standard.

5. Criminal Investigation of AI Systems

Sánchez instructed Spain's Attorney General to investigate crimes committed through artificial intelligence systems like Grok (X), Meta's tools, and TikTok.

Platforms in the Crosshairs

Sánchez directly pointed at three platforms:

European Coalition

Spain isn't acting alone. Sánchez announced a "coalition of the digitally willing" alongside Denmark, Greece, France, and other European nations to coordinate regulation at a multinational level.

The €120 Million Fine and the DSA: Europe's Legal Arsenal

France and Spain's actions don't exist in a vacuum. Europe has been building a regulatory arsenal against major platforms for months, with X as its primary target.

The First DSA Fine

In December 2025, the European Commission imposed the first-ever fine under the Digital Services Act on X: €120 million. The violations:

1. Deceptive Blue Checkmark: Anyone can pay for verification without X checking their real identity. This violates the DSA's ban on deceptive design.

2. Opaque Ad Repository: X's advertising archive imposes access barriers and lacks critical information such as ad content and the paying entity.

3. Blocking Researchers: X prohibits in its terms of service researchers from accessing public data, undermining systemic risk research.

X has 60 days to fix the checkmark and 90 days to submit an action plan for the rest. Failure to comply means additional periodic payments.

And that's just the start. The maximum possible fine under the DSA is 6% of a platform's global annual revenue.

Meta and TikTok Also Under Scrutiny

X isn't the only platform under fire. The European Commission has also found preliminary DSA violations by:

• Meta (Facebook/Instagram): Data access, dark patterns, and deficient reporting mechanisms
• TikTok: Transparency and researcher data access

Both companies face potential fines of up to 6% of their global revenue.

The Geopolitical War: Trump Backs Musk

If you ask me directly, this is the most concerning dimension of the entire situation. What started as tech regulation has become a geopolitical conflict between the United States and Europe.

US Sanctions on Europe

In December 2025, Secretary of State Marco Rubio sanctioned Thierry Breton, former European commissioner and architect of the DSA, along with four other Europeans. The charge: leading "organized efforts to coerce American platforms into censoring American viewpoints."

Sarah Rogers, undersecretary for public diplomacy, described Breton as the "mastermind" of the DSA and accused him of threatening Musk during the presidential campaign.

Musk's Response

Musk hasn't stayed quiet. His statements have been inflammatory:

• He called the EU fine "crazy" and demanded retaliation "not just against the EU, but against the individuals who took this action against me"
• He called the EU "the tyrannical, unelected bureaucracy that oppresses the people of Europe"
• He called for the abolition of the European Union
• He appeared virtually at an AfD (German far-right) rally in January 2026
• X canceled the European Commission's advertising account on the platform

Trade War Threats

The Trump administration has threatened to use Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 — the same tool used against China — to retaliate against Europe. European companies that could be targeted include Spotify, Siemens, SAP, Capgemini, and Mistral AI.

Europe's response has been firm. Breton called the sanctions a "witch hunt" and compared them to McCarthyism. Macron called them "intimidation and coercion against European digital sovereignty." Teresa Ribera, the EU's competition commissioner, made clear that Brussels will not yield to American pressure.

The Numbers Tell the Story

The numbers speak for themselves: 71% of Europeans in Germany and the UK hold an unfavorable view of Musk, according to YouGov (January 2026). 63% believe Musk doesn't understand European politics. His confrontational strategy isn't working on the old continent.

The Global Offensive: Who Else Is Joining

Europe isn't alone in this regulatory push. The movement against unregulated social media is global:

Australia pioneered the movement with its Online Safety Amendment Act, which took effect December 2025 with fines up to AUD $49.5 million (USD $32 million) for non-compliant platforms.

The UK is considering a similar ban, with Prime Minister Keir Starmer warning about the risk of children being pulled into "a world of endless scrolling, anxiety, and comparison."

Even the United States, where federal regulation is unlikely under the Trump administration, is seeing state-level action: California and Texas are working on their own bans for 2026.

What This Means for You

After years advising on digital transformation, I won't sugarcoat it: these changes will affect every European user, directly or indirectly.

Immediate Changes

• Mandatory age verification on social media. Not "I'm over 16" checkboxes, but biometric or ID-based systems
• If you have children under 16, they will lose access to Instagram, TikTok, X, and other platforms in the coming months
• Greater ad transparency: you'll know who pays for the ads you see and why they're shown to you
• AI restrictions: tools like Grok will no longer be able to generate certain content in Europe

The Trade War Risk

The geopolitical dimension is the most unpredictable. If the US follows through on Section 301 threats, Europeans could see:

• Tariffs or restrictions on American digital services
• Retaliation against European companies in the American market
• Increased costs for cloud and SaaS services for European businesses

My verdict is clear: Europe has chosen regulation over permissiveness, and that choice has a cost. But the alternative — allowing platforms to operate unsupervised while generating deepfakes of minors and amplifying hate speech — is far worse.

FAQs

Can Musk be arrested if he doesn't appear in Paris?

The summons is for a "voluntary" appearance, meaning Musk isn't legally required to show up. However, if he doesn't, French prosecutors could issue a European arrest warrant (though enforcing it against a US citizen would be extremely complex). In practice, the summons is more symbolic than enforceable, but it dramatically increases political pressure.

When does Spain's social media ban for minors take effect?

The Council of Ministers will approve the legislative package on February 11, 2026. However, it still needs to pass through Congress. Sánchez's coalition doesn't have a majority, but the PP (main opposition) has indicated support, having proposed similar measures last year. Vox opposes it. Effective implementation could take several months after parliamentary approval.

What happens if platforms simply ignore these laws?

Under the DSA, the European Commission can impose fines of up to 6% of global annual revenue. For Meta, that could exceed €7 billion. For X, several hundred million. If Spain's criminal liability measures are also approved, executives could personally face criminal proceedings on European soil.

Does this affect WhatsApp or messaging services?

The measures primarily target open social networks (Instagram, TikTok, X, Facebook), not private messaging services like WhatsApp, Signal, or Telegram. However, child protection rules could extend to any platform that allows public profiles or interaction with strangers.

Why is the US defending Musk instead of regulating platforms?

The Trump administration's stance reflects its political alliance with Musk (who contributed significantly to the campaign) and its view of European regulation as a threat to American tech dominance. Rubio has called the DSA "an attack on all American tech platforms and on the American people." For the administration, this is about tech sovereignty, not consumer protection.

Conclusion: The Beginning of the End for Lawless Social Media

What we're seeing today isn't just another chapter in tech regulation. It's a turning point.

Police raids on X offices. Court summons for Elon Musk. Threats of jail for CEOs. Fines in the hundreds of millions. Cross-border sanctions between superpowers. All in a single day.

Europe has decided that tech platforms can no longer operate as states within states, with their own rules, their own algorithms, and their own impunity. Spain, with the continent's most aggressive measures, has positioned itself as the spearhead of this offensive.

The big question isn't whether regulation is coming — it's already here — but how platforms will respond. Will they comply with European laws? Will they withdraw from the market? Or will they continue defying regulators as fines and criminal charges pile up?

If you ask me directly: the platforms will comply. Not because they want to, but because 450 million European consumers are too valuable to abandon. They did it with GDPR. They'll do it with the DSA. And they'll do it with the national laws of Spain, France, and whatever comes next.

But the collateral damage from this war — both for transatlantic relations and for free expression — is something we'll need to watch very closely.