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Coimisiún na Meán, the Digital Services Coordinator for Ireland, will contribute its analysis to the case. Alamy Stock Photo

EU opens investigation against TikTok over alleged Russian interference in Romanian elections

Authorities in Romania have alleged Russian meddling and ‘preferential treatment’ by TikTok of far-right presidential candidate Calin Georgescu.

THE EU HAS opened a formal investigation into TikTok following allegations the platform was used by Russia to sway the result of Romania’s later annulled presidential election.

The investigation, under a law known as the Digital Services Act (DSA), centres on concerns the video app failed to “assess and mitigate systemic risks” linked to election integrity, the European Commission said.

The DSA forces the world’s largest tech firms to do more to protect European users online and clamp down on illegal content.

Coimisiún na Meán, the Digital Services Coordinator for Ireland, will contribute its expertise and analysis to the case.

Russia is regularly accused of orchestrating disinformation campaigns in favour of candidates that could be favourable to it, in the EU and elsewhere.

“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,” said commission chief Ursula von der Leyen.

Authorities in Romania have alleged Russian meddling and “preferential treatment” by TikTok of far-right candidate Calin Georgescu, who unexpectedly topped the first round of voting for Romania’s presidency on 24 November.

calin-georgescu-an-independent-candidate-for-president-who-came-first-after-the-first-round-of-presidential-elections-casts-his-vote-in-the-countrys-parliamentary-elections-in-mogosoaia-romania File image of Calin Georgescu. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo

“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,” said von der Leyen.

TikTok said it had taken “robust actions” to tackle election-related misinformation and protect the integrity of its platform “through over 150 elections around the world”.

Russia has insisted it did not interfere in the election.

Georgescu’s surprise win sparked alarm in the NATO and EU member that borders Ukraine, amid fears that a second-round confirmation could have seen Romania join the EU’s far-right bloc and undermine European unity against Russia.

But the country’s constitutional court later annulled the electoral process by ruling it was “marred… by multiple irregularities and violations of electoral legislation”.

The move followed a spate of intelligence documents declassified by the presidency detailing allegations against Georgescu and Russia, including claims of “massive” social media promotion and cyberattacks.

The EU said the decision to open the probe was in part based on declassified intelligence reports by the Romanian authorities.

The investigation would focus on the TikTok’s “recommender systems” – which uses data to suggest users content they might like – amid suspicions it was exploited for “coordinated inauthentic manipulation”.

The platform’s policies on political advertisements and paid-for political content would also be scrutinised, said the European executive, which acts as the EU’s digital watchdog under the DSA.

Covert networks

The probe is the third the EU Commission has launched against TikTok, which risks fines of up to 6% of its global turnover.

Platforms deemed guilty of serious and repeated violations can also be banned from operating in Europe.

The commission had already announced that it was stepping up its monitoring of TikTok in the wake of Romania’s vote.

Earlier this month it ordered the video-sharing app to “freeze and preserve” data related to the risks its service could pose on “electoral processes and civic discourse in the EU”.

The firm owned by Chinese tech company ByteDance said it was cooperating with the commission as well as regional and national authorities.

“We do not accept paid political advertisements, we proactively remove content for violating our policies on misinformation, harassment and hate speech,” a TikTok spokesperson said.

According to TikTok, it detected and disrupted five small covert networks and removed hundreds of thousands of fake accounts as well as millions of fake likes and followers in connection with the Romanian election.

Romanian authorities last month alleged that Georgescu, a 62-year-old former civil servant, benefited from “massive exposure” on TikTok by not being labelled as a “political candidate”.

The platform has eight million users in the country of almost 20 million people, according to data supplied to the Commission by the company.

The commission stressed that the opening of formal proceedings does not prejudge the probe’s outcome and there is no deadline for its completion.

“I am confident that our investigation into TikTok’s practices will contribute to a safer and more trustworthy online environment for all EU citizens,” said Henna Virkkunen, the commission’s vice-president for tech sovereignty.

© AFP 2024 

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    Mute FoxyBoiiYT
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    Dec 17th 2024, 3:11 PM

    The same people who want TikTok banned are happy with Twitter pushing lies and horribly hurtful content daily. Pot kettle

    38
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    Mute Daniel Skelton
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    Dec 17th 2024, 7:44 PM

    @FoxyBoiiYT: That cesspool equally needs to be gone just as much. I’d put a rush on that before Meta and TikToxic.

    5
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    Mute Chris
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    Dec 17th 2024, 3:24 PM

    Just imagine Aountu would have won our elections in November being number 1 party with 23%. After having 3% in the polls for years. Exactly this happened in Romania with Georgescu.

    13
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    Mute Frank Mc Carthy
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    Dec 17th 2024, 3:32 PM

    @Chris: peader tobiin was running in Romanian election?

    28
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    Mute Maximilian Kolbe
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    Dec 17th 2024, 4:37 PM

    @Chris: same as people saying Kamala Harris was going to win half the swing states and it was going to be very close. Instead she airballed 7/7 and has to go back to her Israeli husband and find a new way to make money.

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    Mute Paul Whitehead
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    Dec 17th 2024, 10:59 PM

    @Frank Mc Carthy: In fairness he was impressive on the debate.

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    Mute 087 bed
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    Dec 17th 2024, 3:38 PM

    Tired old BS every time.

    16
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    Mute honey badger
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    Dec 17th 2024, 4:27 PM

    A good time to remember that Ming, Funchion, & Boylan abstained (November 28th) on a motion in the EU parliament that expressed concern for whats happeninv in Georgia. Here’s some of what they thought was worth abstaining on:
    “whereas the pre-election period failed to meet democratic standards due to actions by the ruling Georgian Dream party and the authorities that fostered a climate of fear, including through the arrest, home raids and intimidation of opposition politicians, civil society leaders, journalists, researchers and other persons critical of the government, and violence committed against them…” “whereas the top leaders of the ruling party made public statements during the campaign expressing their intent to ban key opposition parties following the elections…” Madness.

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    Mute Oh Mammy
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    Dec 17th 2024, 10:20 PM

    This is never done if the desired result is achieved, interference or not.

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    Mute N.F. Court
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    Dec 17th 2024, 10:57 PM

    Re the article 2 or three down from this…who does the president think
    He’s talking about…? Completely ant i sem itic leadership in this country and has been for a long time!

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    Mute Paul Whitehead
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    Dec 17th 2024, 11:00 PM

    Where will I post my little dances of it is banned?

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    Mute Daniel Skelton
    Favourite Daniel Skelton
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    Dec 17th 2024, 7:46 PM

    Just ban it already, ffs.

    1
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