EU monitors TikTok for electoral security

The European Commission has responded to widespread concerns surrounding TikTok’s impact on Romania’s elections by announcing that it is stepping up monitoring of the platform’s compliance with the bloc’s online governance framework, the Digital Services Law (DSA).

This follows the surprising emergence of Călin Georgescu, an independent, far-right, pro-Russian nationalist, as the leading candidate in the first round of Romania’s presidential election last month.

TikTok has been a focal point for Georgescu’s unconventional political campaign, which saw him rise from around 1% in the polls in early November to nearly 23% to lead the first round of voting on November 24. However, Romanian authorities and outside experts blame the increase on an online propaganda campaign involving paid TikTok influencers that they suggest violates local election laws.

Following the declassification of official documents from multiple government agencies in recent days, the social media platform has been accused of failing to prevent fake accounts from being used to artificially boost and algorithmically amplify Georgescu’s content, such as Washington Post information.

In the European Union, TikTok is designated as a very large online platform (VLOP) under the DSA, meaning it is expected to mitigate systemic risks such as threats to democratic processes. That is why the European Commission is interested in the Romanian electoral controversy.

Failure to comply with the DSA could result in penalties of up to 6% of TikTok’s global annual turnover.

The Commission already has an investigation open into its compliance with the DSA, which began in February. That research included concerns about risk management, although at the time the focus was on addictive design risks in the context of child safety. Now the bloc’s scrutiny of TikTok appears to be expanding to also encompass democratic risks.

Withholding order

“In the context of the ongoing Romanian elections, the Commission has intensified its monitoring of TikTok under the Digital Services Act (DSA),” the EU wrote in a Press release Thursday.

EU DSA enforcers have issued TikTok a “retention order” ordering it to “freeze and preserve data related to actual or foreseeable systemic risks that its service could pose to electoral processes and civic discourse in the EU”.

“This is done to preserve available information and evidence in the event that the Commission conducts a new investigation into TikTok’s compliance with its obligations under the DSA,” the EU writes, suggesting that it could open a new investigation of the platform related to electoral security.

The holding order concerns national elections in the EU covering the period from November 24 to March 31, 2025, so the scrutiny is not just retrospective. This component of the order, in particular, appears intended to pressure TikTok to do a much better job of preventing abuse of its platform for the second round of the Romanian elections, which will take place on December 8.

On Tuesday, European Parliament lawmakers questioned the platform’s global head of product, authenticity and transparency, Brie Pegum, and its top EU lobbyist, Caroline Greer, about their role in the Romanian election.

The couple told MEPs that the platform had dismantled several influence networks that had tried to meddle in the elections, according to the APHowever, some groups were not removed from TikTok until after the vote.

For several years, TikTok has tried to distance itself from political content (and controversy), such as through political advertising bans and restrictions on fundraising. However, user-uploaded content that is political in nature continues to pepper the platform, and people seeking elected office can (and do) take advantage of its tools to raise their profile among voters.

But this also means that bad actors can try to take advantage of TikTok’s same powerful algorithmic amplification effect to unfairly influence election results, putting the spotlight on how well the platform is enforcing its own rules, such as banning the behavior. coordinated inauthentic, or rules requiring transparency from users about the source of content.

The Commission’s action today represents a clear shot across TikTok’s bows, one that basically tells it to stick its finger out.

However, the EU has arguably been slow to act, with the second round of the Romanian elections looming in just a few days. Don’t forget: a very talked about topic. reason for being What explains the existence of the DSA is the notion that the law would finally force platforms to respect their own T&Cs. But hey, where is the evidence for that?

The withholding order follows a Commission request for information (RFI) sent to TikTok on November 29also related to the Romanian elections, seeking “detailed information” on how the platform “analyzed and mitigated the risk of inauthentic or automated exploitation of its service and the risks arising from its recommendation systems,” as well as questions about its compliance with the DSA. provisions requiring TikTok to provide access to data for outside researchers to study risks to democratic processes.

The EU gave TikTok until December 13 to respond to that RFI. A previous RFI, dated October 2, also asked for information “on the design and operation of its recommendation systems in relation to the elections.”

tiktok algorithm

The EU retention order asks TikTok not to delete information related to its recommendation systems (also known as the TikTok algorithm).

“TikTok must preserve internal documents and information about the design and operation of its recommendation systems, as well as how it addresses the risk of intentional manipulation through coordinated and inauthentic use of the service,” the EU wrote.

The restraining order also covers “any systematic violation of TikTok’s terms of service that prohibit the use of monetization features for the promotion of political content on the service,” suggesting that DSA agents are following up on concerns about paying Romanian influencers to sell political propaganda.

Summing up the purpose of the order, Commission spokesperson Patricia Poropat told us: “This is done to preserve available information and evidence in the event of a new Commission investigation into TikTok’s compliance with its obligations.” under the DSA.”

Commenting on the stock in a statement, Henna Virkkunenthe new executive vice-president of the Commission for Technological Sovereignty, Security and Democracy, said: “This preservation order is a key step in helping investigators establish the facts and adds to our formal requests for information seeking information after the declassification of secret documents. yesterday.”

Virkkunen went on to say that the EU is “intensifying contacts with digital and cyber regulators across Europe in light of emerging evidence of systematic inauthentic activity,” adding: “I am committed to the diligent and robust application of the Law on Digital Services”.

When asked for a response to the Commission’s order, TikTok spokesperson Elliott Burton emailed us a statement in which the company wrote: “We have already been cooperating with the Commission and will continue to do so. “We look forward to establishing the facts in light of some of the speculation and inaccurate reporting we have seen.”

This report was updated with comments and additional information from the Commission.

Personal opinion:

“The EU’s monitoring of TikTok to ensure election security is an important step in light of the increasing role of social media in influencing public opinion. Given the huge popularity of TikTok among young people, it becomes essential to ensure that the content circulating does not contain incorrect information or negatively impact the democratic process. I believe that this monitoring can be effective if implemented transparently, with a focus on raising awareness among users.”