EU ramps up TikTok monitoring over Romanian elections

The Commission said that it is not clear yet whether TikTok infringed on its DSA obligations.

The European Commission has increased its monitoring of TikTok under the Digital Services Act (DSA) after evidence has emerged indicating that accounts from other EU countries targeted Romania in the lead up to the country’s presidential elections on 24 November.

The first-round victory of the far-right and pro-Russian presidential candidate Călin Georgescu has raised questions about how posts on TikTok – a platform which, according to itself, prohibits any references to elections – could have led to his surprising victory.

In an announcement today (5 December), the Commission has ordered the platform to freeze and preserve internal documents related to the presidential election, as well as information regarding the design and functioning of its recommender system, how it addresses risks of manipulation on the platform and documents regarding any infringements of its terms of service that might have occurred.

At this stage, the Commission is monitoring compliance and has no position on the question of whether TikTok may have infringed obligations under the DSA.

Yesterday (4 December), the current Romanian president Klaus Iohannis declassified intelligence documents, which alleged that a network of thousands of social media accounts across TikTok and Telegram promoted Georgescu’s content.

“Romania is a target for aggressive Russian hybrid actions, including cyberattacks and information leaks … and sabotage,” said a document from the Foreign Intelligence Service.

However, as no candidate was able to achieve an absolute majority, Georgescu will face a run-off vote on 8 December contending for the seat with centre-right-leaning Elena Lasconi.

The country, which is set to enter into the Schengen Area in January, also went into parliamentary elections on 1 December, which led to the country’s pro-European bloc victory.

Taking a strict approach

On 29 November, the European Commission sent a formal request for information to TikTok asking how the platform mitigates risks.

The Commission asked the Chinese-owned social media platform to provide information on how it managed possible “information manipulation” and in particular, how the platform mitigated “inauthentic or automated exploitation” as well as how it managed risks arising from its recommender systems.

“We ordered TikTok today to freeze and preserve all data and evidence linked to the Romanian elections, but also for upcoming elections in the EU. This preservation order is a key step in helping investigators establish the facts and adds to our formal requests for information which seek information following the declassification of secret documents yesterday,” said Henna Virkkunen, the executive vice-president for tech sovereignty, security and democracy.

“We are also intensifying contacts with digital and cyber regulators across Europe in light of emerging evidence of systematic inauthentic activity.”

Last week, the Commission held an online meeting attended by very large online platforms (VLOP) and very large online search engines (VLOSE) including TikTok, Meta, Google, Microsoft and X.

During the meeting, the Commission requested VLOPs and VLOSEs to share information on their risk assessment and mitigation measures during the two rounds of elections in the country as well as the upcoming presidential round on 8 December.

The signatories of the ‘Code of Practice on Disinformation’ – aimed at tackling online disinformation, which include commitments on ensuring transparency around political advertising – have also activated their ‘Rapid Response System’ (RRS) for the Romanian elections.

The system aims to ensure cooperation between online platforms, civil society organisations and fact-checkers during election periods.

The signatories, who by way of joining the code, commit to adhering to its commitments, includes VLOPs such as TikTok, Google, Meta and Microsoft amongst other industry and non-industry stakeholders.

The Romanian-Bulgarian hub – which is also participating in the RRS has identified “several” disinformation tactics such as electoral law violation and unmarked political content, the EU said.

Meanwhile, the EU member states’ digital services watchdogs – which includes Ireland’s Data Protection Commission – will meet on 6 December to discuss steps to protect the region’s democratic integrity from social media interference.

Global Witness, an international NGO, found “significant failings” in TikTok’s ability to moderate disinformation and political content. Releasing the findings of their investigations just days before the general elections in Ireland on 29 November, the NGO said that the platform’s ability to moderate content in both English and Irish failed to meet its own stated policies.

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