EU investigating if TikTok manipulated Romanian election
Did Chinese-owned TikTok manipulate the Romanian presidential election that led to a surprising victory for a right wing candidate that earlier had shown modest support in opinion polls? The EU Commission has now entered the controversial discussion by opening a formal proceedings against TikTok on election risks under the Digital Services Act (DSA).
Right wing candidate Calin Georgescu got most votes on the first election and would have been the leading candidate in a second round of voting but this voting was annulled by the country’s constitutional court so presidential elections will start all over again at a later occasion.
Background for the court’s decision is suspicion that the right wing candidate had been promoted by TikTok, perhaps on a Russian initiative.
In Romania, this has created a discussion if the court has saved democracy or violated it by annulling the first election result.
The Commission has now opened formal proceedings against TikTok for “a suspected breach of the DSA in relation to TikTok’s obligation to properly assess and mitigate systemic risks linked to election integrity, notably in the context of the recent Romanian presidential elections on 24 November.”
“We must protect our democracies from any kind of foreign interference. Whenever we suspect such interference, especially during elections, we have to act swiftly and firmly”, says Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
“Following serious indications that foreign actors interfered in the Romanian presidential elections by using TikTok, we are now thoroughly investigating whether TikTok has violated the DSA by failing to tackle such risks. It should be crystal clear that in the EU, all online platforms, including TikTok, must be held accountable.”
The Commission says proceedings will focus on management of risks to elections or civic discourse, linked to the following areas:
- TikTok’s recommender systems, notably the risks linked to the coordinated inauthentic manipulation or automated exploitation of the service.
- TikTok’s policies on political advertisements and paid-for political content.
“As regards both elements, one of the suspicions the Commission is going to investigate is whether TikTok has diligently mitigated the risks posed by specific regional and linguistic aspects of national elections.”
The Commission says it will continue to gather evidence, for example by sending additional requests for information, conducting monitoring actions, interviews, inspections and requesting access to algorithms. “Such requests for information may require TikTok to provide data and documents it has been obliged to retain on the basis of the retention order imposed by the Commission on 5 December”, the Commission says.
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