the European Union opens an investigation targeting TikTok

The European Commission announced on Tuesday the opening of an investigation against the social network TikTok suspected of having failed in its obligations and opened the door to possible Russian manipulation in the canceled presidential election in Romania.

The Romanian authorities suspect the far-right candidate Calin Georgescu, who came first in the first round on November 24 to everyone’s surprise, of having benefited from an illicit support campaign orchestrated by Moscow, in particular on TikTok, owned by the Chinese group ByteDance. “We must protect our democracies from all forms of foreign interference”said Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, calling for action “quickly and firmly”.

TikTok, which claims 175 million users in Europe, does not consider itself at fault and judges “solid” its efforts against disinformation. “We continue to collaborate with the European Commission”explained a spokesperson, contacted by AFP. “We have protected the integrity of our platform through more than 150 elections around the world and continue to proactively address these common industry challenges”.

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Under pressure in the United States

The video-sharing social network is also under pressure in the United States where Congress adopted a law in April forcing ByteDance to sell TikTok by January 19 or face a ban. The text aims to prevent the risks of espionage and manipulation of users by the Chinese authorities. In the EU, the European Commission plays the role of digital policeman, under the Digital Services Regulation (DSA) which came into full force on February 17.

“Following serious indications that foreign actors interfered in the Romanian presidential elections using TikTok, we are conducting a thorough investigation to determine whether (the platform) violated the Digital Services Law by failing to address these risks”explained Ursula von der Leyen on Tuesday, without directly mentioning Russia. This investigation will focus on the management of risks linked to recommendation systems suspected of having been misused for “coordinated manipulation”. It will also examine the management by the platform of “political advertisements and sponsored political content”.

Declassified reports

The decision to open an investigation “takes into account information received from declassified intelligence reports from the Romanian authorities as well as reports from third parties”specified Brussels. The Commission recalls that the DSA does not set any legal deadline for closing a formal investigation. In the event of proven infringements, the Commission may impose fines of up to 6% of its annual turnover on the offender. In the event of serious and repeated violations, platforms can even theoretically be banned from all activity in Europe.

The European Commission announced in early December that it was intensifying its monitoring of TikTok. She had ordered the platform “freezing and preservation” linked data “the real or foreseeable systemic risks that its service could pose to electoral processes and civic debate in the European Union”.

The investigation announced Tuesday is the third opened under the DSA. The previous one, launched on February 19 and still in progress, focused on the protection of minors. A first procedure for the same reason was opened in November 2023 and closed this summer after commitments from TikTok.

“Multiple irregularities”

The Romanian justice system annulled the presidential election at the beginning of December after the first round won by Calin Georgescu, citing “multiple irregularities and violations of the electoral law having distorted” the vote. Out of nowhere, Calin Georgescu, whose message “Romania first” seduced a part of the population tired of traditional parties, had swept aside the favorites from the government parties. Critical of the EU and NATO, this 62-year-old former senior official declared himself in favor of stopping military aid to Ukraine. Romanian intelligence has drawn parallels to previous Russian election interference efforts in Europe and documented «25.000 accounts TikTok» directly associated with the Calin Georgescu campaign, who became “extremely active two weeks before the election date”.

Moscow is regularly accused of orchestrating disinformation campaigns to defend candidates who would be favorable to it within the EU or in neighboring countries such as Moldova or Georgia.