European Commission launches investigation into TikTok over Romanian elections

Author:
Oleksandra Opanasenko
Date:

The European Commission has opened formal proceedings against the social network TikTok amid the presidential elections in Romania.

This is stated in the European Commissionʼs statement.

TikTok is suspected of violating the Digital Services Act (DSA). According to the rules, TikTok must assess and mitigate systemic risks related to the integrity of elections.

"We must protect our democracies from any foreign interference. Whenever we suspect such interference, especially during elections, we must act quickly and decisively," said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

The regulator is investigating whether there was foreign influence on the Romanian presidential election through TikTok and whether the social network violated European laws by failing to address these risks. The focus will be on TikTokʼs recommendation system, in particular the risks associated with coordinated manipulation. It will also review the serviceʼs policies on political advertising and paid political content.

One of the suspicions the commission will investigate is whether TikTok diligently mitigated risks related to specific regional and linguistic aspects of national elections.

After the opening of proceedings, the European Commission will continue to gather evidence, for example by sending additional requests for information, conducting interviews, inspections and requests for access to algorithms.

The duration of the investigation depends on the complexity of the case and TikTokʼs cooperation with the European Commission.

Presidential elections in Romania

The first round of the presidential election in Romania was held on November 24. Far-right politician Calin Georgescu and liberal pro-European candidate Elena Lasconi advanced to the second round. Lasconi beat the countryʼs incumbent Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu by just 2 700 votes.

Georgescuʼs leadership was unexpected, and he was accused of influencing the election through TikTok and other social networks. Because of this, the European Commission even asked the platform to provide information on how the social network has reduced the risk of inauthentic or automated use of its service, as well as to list the risks arising from its recommended content system.

Romanian intelligence has found that the TikTok account bogpr, used by Romanian citizen Bogdan Pescir, participated in financing Georgescuʼs campaign. He made payments totaling $381 000 between October 24 and November 24 to TikTok users who participated in Georgescuʼs promotion.

Therefore, the Constitutional Court of Romania annulled the results of the first round of the presidential election. Now the entire electoral process will be held again.

For more news and in-depth stories from Ukraine please follow us on X.