EU Opens TikTok Probe Over Romanian Election Interference Fears
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The European Commission has launched a formal investigation into TikTok, alleging that the video-sharing platform may have facilitated foreign interference in Romania's recent presidential elections, reports the Wall Street Journal. The probe, announced Tuesday, focuses on TikTok's recommender systems and its handling of political advertisements, as well as paid political content.
"We must protect our democracies from any kind of foreign interference," European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen stated. "Whenever we suspect such interference, especially during elections, we have to act swiftly and firmly."
The investigation stems from concerns about potential Russian interference in the first round of the Romanian presidential election, which saw right-wing politician Calin Georgescu emerge victorious before judges annulled the results. The European Commission's probe will examine TikTok's algorithms and policies related to political content, aiming to assess the platform's role in preventing foreign actors from influencing elections.
The EU regulator is using its relatively new Digital Services Act (DSA), designed to curb harmful content and misinformation online, to scrutinize TikTok's practices. The DSA empowers the Commission to impose significant fines, up to 6% of a company's global annual turnover, for violations.
TikTok, owned by Chinese technology giant ByteDance, is also facing pressure in the United States. The company recently petitioned the Supreme Court to delay implementation of a national security law that could effectively ban TikTok in the US next month.
In response to the EU investigation, TikTok told the WSJ that it has been "proactively removing content for violating our policies on misinformation, harassment and hate speech." The company also stated that it is cooperating fully with the Commission and has provided substantial information regarding its efforts to prevent foreign electoral interference globally.
The Commission has been actively utilizing the DSA to hold Big Tech companies accountable for content moderation practices. A similar investigation was launched last year into Elon Musk's X (formerly Twitter) concerning the platform's handling of illegal content and disinformation. The current TikTok probe, however, marks the first instance of the DSA being applied to address concerns of foreign electoral interference.