TikTok under investigation for election security risks in Romania

The European Commission has formally launched proceedings against TikTok for ignoring its obligation to assess and mitigate systemic risks to ensure the integrity of the presidential elections in Romania.

According to a press release, the European Commission will investigate two separate matters. First of all, the Commission is looking into TikTok’s recommendation algorithm, more specifically the risks that are potentially linked to manipulation or automated exploitation of the platform.

Secondly, the European Commission is going to inspect TikTok’s policies on political advertisements and paid political content.

“As regards both elements, one of the suspicions the Commission is going to investigate is whether TikTok has diligently mitigated the risks posed by specific regional and linguistic aspects of national elections,” the body said in a statement.

The proceedings follow after the EU sent a data retention order to TikTok earlier this month, ordering the platform to freeze and preserve data related to the first round of Romania’s presidential election.

Romania’s Constitutional Court (CCR) nullified the recent elections because there was evidence that a Russian disinformation campaign on TikTok affected the outcome.

Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, stresses the importance of fair, transparent, and independent democratic elections.

“We must protect our democracies from any kind of foreign interference. Whenever we suspect such interference, especially during elections, we have to act swiftly and firmly. Following serious indications that foreign actors interfered in the Romanian presidential elections by using TikTok, we are now thoroughly investigating whether TikTok has violated the Digital Services Act by failing to tackle such risks. It should be crystal clear that in the EU, all online platforms, including TikTok, must be held accountable,” Von der Leyen says.

The European Commission is going to gather evidence by sending additional questions for information, conducting interviews, and requesting access to TikTok’s algorithms. In addition, the Commission wants to look into declassified intelligence reports from Romania’s intelligence service, as well as third-party reports.

It remains unclear when the European Commission will round up and present its findings. If found guilty, TikTok could face a fine of up to 6 percent of its annual global turnover.

A TikTok spokesperson told TechCrunch that the platform protected its integrity through 150 elections around the world and will proactively continue to address these challenges.

“We do not accept paid political advertisements. We proactively remove content for violating our policies on misinformation, harassment, and hate speech, and continue to work with the European Commission as well as regional and national authorities to address requests and discuss concerns,” the spokesperson added.