The EU's executive arm has reacted to alarming findings surrounding TikTok's role in the Romanian presidential election, focusing on a surge of new accounts and their impact on candidate promotion.
EU Launches Investigation Into TikTok for Alleged Russian Interference in Romanian Elections
EU Launches Investigation Into TikTok for Alleged Russian Interference in Romanian Elections
The European Union has initiated a formal inquiry into TikTok due to potential foreign meddling in Romania's presidential election, citing numerous suspicious account activations.
The article text:
In a significant move, the European Union's executive agency has officially launched an investigation into TikTok over "serious indications" of foreign interference during the recent Romanian presidential election. This inquiry follows revelations that approximately 25,000 TikTok accounts were abruptly activated in the weeks leading up to the first round of voting, aimed at promoting independent candidate Calin Georgescu, who is associated with far-right ideologies and has made favorable remarks about Russian President Vladimir Putin.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen highlighted the necessity of safeguarding democracies from foreign influence, emphasizing the EU's commitment to hold digital platforms accountable for their roles in elections. The investigation will scrutinize TikTok's advertising strategies and content recommendation systems to determine compliance with the Digital Services Act (DSA), established to mitigate disinformation and curb illegal online activities.
"When we suspect such interference, especially during elections, decisive action is imperative," von der Leyen asserted in her statement. Despite Moscow's denials of interference, Romanian intelligence agencies consider the country a priority target for Russian influence operations. The campaigns promoting Georgescu were allegedly misleading, as they lacked mandatory disclosures required for election content, raising legal concerns in Romania.
One TikTok account reportedly spent an enormous sum of $381,000 on promotional posts for Georgescu, who has denied funding any such activities personally. TikTok has firmly rejected these accusations, labeling claims about unequal treatment of Georgescu's account as categorically false. While the platform allows organic sharing of election-related content, it maintains a ban on paid political advertisements.
Following the cancellation of the election run-off, TikTok stated that they acted promptly to remove videos highlighted by Romanian authorities as lacking proper identifiers. The investigation will explore the implications of "automated exploitation" by TikTok’s algorithm, which customizes user feeds based on individual preferences and activities on the platform.
Additionally, the EU has mandated that TikTok preserve internal documents detailing how it curates user content and any methods employed to prevent intentional manipulation of its platform. This scrutiny encompasses all content related to forthcoming national elections within the EU between late 2024 and early 2025, affecting Romania, Ireland, and Croatia. The EU is prioritizing this investigation, which accompanies another inquiry into TikTok's adherence to the DSA concerning harmful content and minor protection.
Romanian intelligence previously linked Georgescu's notable rise in popularity to a "highly organized" social media strategy, reportedly characterized by a flurry of accounts disseminating identical content. Before the cancellation of the run-off, Georgescu was in a tightly contested race with reformist candidate Elena Lasconi, advocating the cessation of political and military support for Ukraine, while espousing various conspiracy theories that challenge widely accepted events such as the moon landings and the Covid-19 pandemic.
In a significant move, the European Union's executive agency has officially launched an investigation into TikTok over "serious indications" of foreign interference during the recent Romanian presidential election. This inquiry follows revelations that approximately 25,000 TikTok accounts were abruptly activated in the weeks leading up to the first round of voting, aimed at promoting independent candidate Calin Georgescu, who is associated with far-right ideologies and has made favorable remarks about Russian President Vladimir Putin.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen highlighted the necessity of safeguarding democracies from foreign influence, emphasizing the EU's commitment to hold digital platforms accountable for their roles in elections. The investigation will scrutinize TikTok's advertising strategies and content recommendation systems to determine compliance with the Digital Services Act (DSA), established to mitigate disinformation and curb illegal online activities.
"When we suspect such interference, especially during elections, decisive action is imperative," von der Leyen asserted in her statement. Despite Moscow's denials of interference, Romanian intelligence agencies consider the country a priority target for Russian influence operations. The campaigns promoting Georgescu were allegedly misleading, as they lacked mandatory disclosures required for election content, raising legal concerns in Romania.
One TikTok account reportedly spent an enormous sum of $381,000 on promotional posts for Georgescu, who has denied funding any such activities personally. TikTok has firmly rejected these accusations, labeling claims about unequal treatment of Georgescu's account as categorically false. While the platform allows organic sharing of election-related content, it maintains a ban on paid political advertisements.
Following the cancellation of the election run-off, TikTok stated that they acted promptly to remove videos highlighted by Romanian authorities as lacking proper identifiers. The investigation will explore the implications of "automated exploitation" by TikTok’s algorithm, which customizes user feeds based on individual preferences and activities on the platform.
Additionally, the EU has mandated that TikTok preserve internal documents detailing how it curates user content and any methods employed to prevent intentional manipulation of its platform. This scrutiny encompasses all content related to forthcoming national elections within the EU between late 2024 and early 2025, affecting Romania, Ireland, and Croatia. The EU is prioritizing this investigation, which accompanies another inquiry into TikTok's adherence to the DSA concerning harmful content and minor protection.
Romanian intelligence previously linked Georgescu's notable rise in popularity to a "highly organized" social media strategy, reportedly characterized by a flurry of accounts disseminating identical content. Before the cancellation of the run-off, Georgescu was in a tightly contested race with reformist candidate Elena Lasconi, advocating the cessation of political and military support for Ukraine, while espousing various conspiracy theories that challenge widely accepted events such as the moon landings and the Covid-19 pandemic.
