EU investigates TikTok over alleged Russian meddling in Romanian vote happymamay

The European Union executive has opened a formal investigation into TikTok due to “serious indications” of foreign interference in the recent Romanian presidential election using the video-sharing platform.

The second round of voting was canceled earlier this month after declassified intelligence documents revealed that 25,000 TikTok accounts were suddenly activated weeks before ballot boxes opened for the first round.

These accounts were supported by independent candidate Calin Georgescu, a largely unknown far-right activist who described Russian President Vladimir Putin as a “patriot and leader,” although he denied being a fan of him.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said democracies must be protected from foreign interference.

EU regulators will evaluate whether TikTok’s advertising policies and the systems it uses to recommend content to users violate the Digital Services Act (DSA), which aims to prevent the spread of misinformation and stop illegal activities online.

He added: “Whenever we suspect such interference, especially during elections, “We must act quickly and decisively,” von der Leyen said in a statement..

“It should be absolutely clear that in the EU, all online platforms including TikTok must be held accountable.”

Georgescu’s election campaign focused primarily on TikTok, and although Moscow denied interference, Romanian intelligence said Russia had identified the NATO member state as a hostile state and a priority target.

TikToks promoting the candidate were not flagged as election content, which is illegal in Romania.

One account paid $381,000 (£300,000) on posts for Georgescu, who denied spending any money himself on the platform.

TikTok has strongly denied the allegations, insisting that “this claim is categorically false.” [Georgescu’s] “The account was handled differently than any other candidate.”

Although the platform allows electoral content to be published and shared organically, paid political advertising is prohibited.

After the runoff was cancelled, TikTok said that “when Romanian authorities contacted us to report a number of videos lacking identifiers… we took action on those videos within 24 hours.”

Part of the EU investigation will look into the risks associated with “automated exploitation” of TikTok’s algorithm, which delivers personalized content on a user’s “For You” page according to their interests and how they interact with the app.

It will also evaluate TikTok’s policies on political advertising.

On December 5, the European Union ordered TikTok to retain internal documents on how it recommends content to users and any methods it has to mitigate “deliberate manipulation” of its platform.

This includes content related to any national elections in the European Union between 24 November 2024 and 31 March 2025, including Romania, Ireland and Croatia.

The European Union said it would conduct the investigation “as a priority.”

It works alongside a separate investigation into TikTok’s possible breach of the DSA regarding harmful content and protection of minors.

After the first round of Romania’s presidential election, Romanian intelligence said the sudden jump in Georgescu’s popularity was due to a “highly organized” and “guerrilla” social media campaign, from accounts sending identical messages.

Before the run-off was cancelled, he was competing closely with reformist candidate Elena Lasconi.

Georgescu campaigned to end political and military aid to Ukraine.

He is a conspiracy theorist and does not believe in the moon landing or the Covid-19 pandemic.