The head of the liberal political group of the European Parliament «Renewing Europe» Valerie Haier called on TikTok CEO to come to the European Parliament and answer questions about the role of the social network in the presidential elections in Romania.
As Ukrinform reports, Politico reports this.
«We call on the CEO of TikTok to speak in this Parliament and ensure that his platform does not violate the EU Digital Services Act (DSA)», – Haier said at a press conference on Thursday.
The first round of Romania's presidential election was won by ultranationalist, pro-Russian candidate Calin Georgescu, who campaigned almost exclusively on TikTok.
Haier's statement came two days after Georgescu's shocking first-round victory.
Romanian Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu said on Tuesday that funding for Georgescu's campaign on TikTok should be reviewed. At the same time, researchers believe that there was an «army of fake accounts» that were used for Georgescu's purposes.
TikTok spokesperson Paolo Ganino called claims about the platform’s influence on the results of the first round of the Romanian election «speculative».
«These highly speculative reports about the Romanian elections are inaccurate and misleading, as most candidates were present on TikTok and the winners campaigned on other digital platforms besides ours», – he said.
In addition, MEPs Dan Nica (Social Democratic Party) and Dan Barna (USR PLUS) called on the European Commission to strictly enforce laws on social media monitoring and to find out who interfered in the presidential elections in Romania, writes the Romanian Journal.
«On Sunday, elections were held in Romania, and we want to know who brutally and rudely interfered in the presidential elections. Who are these foreign entities, who are these companies that bought for big money and brutally influenced democracy», – said Nika.
He noted that TikTok, Facebook and Instagram «took the money», but it is necessary to’find out who gave it.
In turn, Barna also spoke about the Romanian elections, calling for increased control over social networks.
«Therefore, I demand from the European Commission that an operation similar to the one that took place in Sunday's elections in Romania is no longer possible», – he said.