Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen, said:
“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. Following serious indications that foreign actors interfered in the Romanian presidential elections by using TikTok, we are now thoroughly investigating whether TikTok has violated the Digital Services Act by failing to tackle such risks. It should be crystal clear that in the EU, all online platforms, including TikTok, must be held accountable.”
The proceedings will focus on management of risks to elections or civic discourse, linked to the following areas:
- TikTok's recommender systems, notably the risks linked to the coordinated inauthentic manipulation or automated exploitation of the service.
- TikTok's policies on political advertisements and paid-for political content.
As regards both elements, one of the suspicions the Commission is going to investigate is whether TikTok has diligently mitigated the risks posed by specific regional and linguistic aspects of national elections.
Read the full press release.
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