LONDON — On Friday, the European Union took action by sending an urgent inquiry to TikTok regarding Romanian intelligence reports that suggest Moscow may have coordinated efforts through social media influencers on the platform to support an election candidate. This candidate has unexpectedly emerged as the leading contender in Romania’s presidential election.
The EU’s executive body is utilizing its extensive digital regulatory framework to closely examine TikTok’s involvement during the election, which has seen far-right populist Calin Georgescu rise unexpectedly to the forefront. However, the legitimacy of the initial voting results was called into question on Friday as the Romanian Supreme Court annulled the results from the first voting round.
Earlier this week, Romanian authorities released declassified documents indicating that a pro-Russian campaign utilized the messaging service Telegram to enlist numerous TikTok users in promoting Georgescu. There remains uncertainty surrounding whether Georgescu had any knowledge of or participated in the alleged campaign.
Officials from the European Commission have requested TikTok to respond to the intelligence documents and provide insight into what actions it is taking in light of these concerns. This marks the second time the Commission has sought information from TikTok since the first round of voting on November 24, and it follows a directive issued a day prior to ensure that the platform retains all documents and evidence related to the election.
In response to requests for comments, TikTok has opted not to provide any at this time. “We are increasingly concerned about the signs of a coordinated foreign influence operation targeting the Romanian elections, particularly on TikTok,” expressed Henna Virkkunen, the commission’s executive vice-president responsible for tech sovereignty, security, and democracy, in a statement on social media.
EU officials disclosed during a press briefing in Brussels that TikTok has a 24-hour window to respond to their request. Virkkunen has urged TikTok to quickly revise its content moderation and amplification policies, ensuring that it aligns with the bloc’s Digital Services Act, which lays out comprehensive guidelines aimed at refining social media platforms.
Furthermore, she called upon TikTok to enhance its resources to combat misinformation campaigns prior to the final vote scheduled for Sunday, which was expected to be a contest between Georgescu and pro-EU reformist Elena Lasconi from the Save Romania Union party. However, with the Romanian Constitutional Court’s landmark decision to annul previous results, the first voting round will need to be redone.
Georgescu’s sudden surge in popularity has created a chaotic situation in Romania, prompting EU and NATO authorities to disclose the related intelligence files. Reports state that Romanian intelligence revealed one TikTok user allegedly paid $381,000 to promote influencers creating content about Georgescu, identifying a robust promotional campaign aimed at bolstering the candidate’s visibility.
The intelligence also noted that many of the social media accounts employed in this effort were established long before but were only activated in the weeks preceding the first voting event, as indicated in the intelligence documents.
