TikTok under EU investigation after influencing Romanian elections

The European Commission yesterday opened formal proceedings against TikTok for an alleged breach of the Digital Services Act (DSA) in relation to TikTok's obligation to adequately assess and mitigate systemic risks to the integrity of elections, in particular in the context of the recent Romanian presidential elections on 24 November, the EU Commission said in a press release.

Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said: "We must protect our democracies from any kind of foreign interference. Whenever we suspect such interference, in particular during elections, we must act swiftly and firmly. Following serious indications that foreign actors interfered in the Romanian presidential elections using TikTok, we are now closely investigating whether TikTok has breached the Digital Services Act by failing to address such risks. It should be very clear that in the EU, all online platforms, including TikTok, must be held accountable.

The checks will focus on the management of risks to elections or civic discourse related to the following areas: TikTok's recommendation systems, in particular the risks related to coordinated inauthentic manipulation or automated exploitation of the service; TikTok's policies on political advertising and paid political content.

In relation to both elements, one of the suspicions that the Commission will investigate is whether TikTok diligently mitigated the risks posed by the specific regional and linguistic aspects of national elections.

If the Commission's suspicions prove to be correct, these shortcomings would constitute breaches of Articles 34(1) and (2) and 35(1) of the Digital Services Regulation, in which case an in-depth investigation will follow.

The European Commission representatives claim in the press release that the decision to open an investigation takes into account information received from declassified intelligence reports by the Romanian authorities, as well as reports from third parties.

After the formal opening of the proceedings, the Commission will continue to collect evidence, for example by sending additional requests for information, conducting monitoring actions, interviews, inspections and requesting access to algorithms. Such requests for information may require TikTok to provide data and documents that it was obliged to retain based on the preservation order imposed by the Commission on 5 December. The opening of formal proceedings empowers the Commission to take additional enforcement measures, such as interim measures and decisions on non-compliance. The Commission is also empowered to accept any commitment made by TikTok to remedy the issues that are the subject of the proceedings.

The Digital Services Act does not set any legal deadline for the termination of formal proceedings. The duration of an in-depth investigation depends on several factors, including the complexity of the case, the extent to which the company concerned cooperates with the Commission and the exercise of the rights of defence.

Furthermore, the opening of a formal procedure is without prejudice to any other procedure that the Commission may decide to open under other provisions of the Digital Services Act.

This is the third investigation that the Commission has launched against TikTok, following the ongoing investigation opened on 19 February 2024 and the investigation concluded with commitments in August 2024.

On 30 April 2024, the Commission launched a whistleblower tool for the Digital Services Act. The DSA whistleblower tool provides individuals with inside information with a secure and privacy-protected way to share anonymous or attributed information with the European Commission on harmful practices reported by very large online platforms and very large online platforms.