EU Investigates TikTok Over Election Interference

The European Commission on tuesday formally began proceedings against the social media company TikTok for allegedly failing to prevent political meddling, particularly during last month’s Romanian presidential election.

The executive branch of the European Union announced that it will investigate TikTok’s policies regarding political ads and paid political content, as well as the platforms that TikTok uses to create recommendations and the potential for manipulation.

Under the broad provisions of the bloc’s Digital Services Act, which governs the activities of the largest social media companies in Europe, the Commission ordered TikTok to freeze material related to the Romanian election on December 5.

Following claims of Russian interference and the first-round victory of pro-Russia ultra nationalist Calin Georgescu, Romania’s highest court subsequently declared the presidential election to be void.

Formal procedures began on tuesday, giving the Commission the authority to accept TikTok’s promises and pursue additional enforcement actions.

The completion of the proceedings is not subject to a deadline. In what she called a “lesson in democracy,” Moldovan President Maia Sandu speaks following her victory in the November 4, 2024, presidential election runoff in Chisinau.

TikTok, a company owned by Bytedance in China, claimed to have safeguarded the platform’s integrity during more than 150 elections across the globe and to have given the European Commission comprehensive details about its initiatives.

Additionally, it stated that it did not accept sponsored political advertisements and that it actively eliminated anything that violated its hate speech and disinformation regulations.

Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the Commission, stated that the new inquiry came after grave evidence of foreign meddling in the Romanian presidential election.

“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,” she said in a statement.

The Commission Is aware of the possibility of meddling in Croatia’s presidential election beginning on December 29 and the German parliamentary election in February.

Manomsi Mallum/CNN