EU Commission investigates TikTok's influence on Romanian election results

Pro-Russian presidential candidate Calin Georgescu received a high number of views on the app ahead of the first round of voting in the presidential election.

The European Commission has asked TikTok a number of questions related to the platform's involvement in the Romanian elections.

«In light of the events in Romania, the Commission asks TikTok to provide more information on managing the risks of information manipulation», — the Commission's letter to the platform states, writes Politico.

TikTok representatives must explain in detail, in particular, how they deal with the risk of the platform being used by fake accounts, or bots.

Some experts claim that fake accounts and paid commentators were used to promote the account of ultranationalist pro-Russian candidate Calin Georgescu, who won the first round of voting in Romania's presidential election. Georgescu's content on the platform achieved particularly high views in the final days of the campaign.

The Commission also wants to know how TikTok provides NGOs and researchers with access to data needed to thoroughly analyze risks in the elections. 

The platform has two weeks to respond to the questions. The second round of the presidential election is scheduled for December 8. And this Sunday, December 1, Romania will hold parliamentary elections.

Earlier this week, the Romanian audiovisual regulator asked the European Commission to launch an investigation into the influence of TikTok.

The questions posed to the platform do not currently constitute an investigation. However, once they have been answered, the Commission will decide what the next steps will be. These questions also build on a preliminary set of questions that the Commission sent to TikTok in early October regarding the operation of the platform’s recommendation system.

TikTok spokesman Paolo Ganino assured that the company is «ready to cooperate».

«We see this as a useful step in establishing the truth in light of this week’s speculation», – he said, emphasizing that TikTok has repeatedly insisted that it has found no evidence of a covert influence operation.

A study conducted by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) showed that popularity, i.e. the number of likes and views of online content, is the main way in which contributors determine the reliability of information. 

Previously, the Romanian Supreme Defense Council (CSAT), chaired by the country's president, acknowledged the facts of interference in the presidential election, in particular through cyberattacks and TikTok. Officials have not publicly detailed when the cyberattacks occurred or what they were aimed at, but have suggested that Russia may have been involved.

A Romanian court has ordered the CEC to recount the ballots. A decision may then be made to re-run the first round of the presidential election.