EU scrutinizes TikTok's impact on elections – process launched

The European Commission (pictured here is European Commissioner Henna Virkkunen) has initiated proceedings regarding the cancellation of Romania's presidential election.Image: trapezoid

The Chinese company should be examined as to whether it has taken sufficient action against foreign actors interfering in the election.

December 17, 2024 12:06December 18, 2024 06:56

Specifically, Brussels authorities want to study TikTok's recommendation system, the platform's algorithm, as Brussels announced on Tuesday.

This should be about orchestration, unreal manipulation and automated use of services. The focus is also on how TikTok handles political advertising and paid political content.

Strict regulation through EU law

According to EU law DSA (Digital Services Act), TikTok, Facebook, or they will face fines. In principle, large services like Facebook and Instagram must abide by more rules than smaller services.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen warned that democracies must be protected from any form of foreign interference. She said that following serious indications that foreign actors used TikTok to interfere in Romania's presidential election, a thorough investigation is currently underway to determine whether the company adequately addressed such risks.

“Whenever we suspect such interference, especially in an election, we must act quickly and decisively.”

Ursula von der Leyen

TikTok denies everything

The Chinese company denies the accusations. “We have protected the integrity of our platform in more than 150 elections around the world,” a spokesperson said when asked. “We do not accept paid political advertising; we proactively remove content that violates our policies on misinformation, harassment and hate speech.”

TikTok hopes to continue to cooperate with the European Commission and regional and national authorities to address the investigation and discuss concerns.

Romanian Supreme Defense Council (CSAT) TikTok had made serious accusations after pro-Russian right-wing extremist Calin Georgescu won the presidential election. The platform failed to identify him as a politician in the promotional materials he posted. The Romanian prosecutor's office is currently investigating Georgescu's campaign methods and his financing.

Georgescu campaigned primarily on TikTok. He came first in the first round of the presidential election, followed by conservative liberal politician Elena Raskoni. The Constitutional Court has since annulled the election. The entire election process must be repeated. There is no specific date yet.

Data retained until 2025

The committee now hopes to gather further evidence, for example through interviews, during the current proceedings. When proceedings are initiated, only suspicions are reviewed; the outcome has not yet been determined.

In early December, Brussels authorities ordered TikTok to freeze and retain all data related to actual and foreseeable systemic risks to the EU electoral process. This was done, among other things, because the committee had received information indicating interference from Russia.

(dsc/rbu/sda/dpa)

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