EU Opens Investigation Into TikTok For Alleged Election Tampering
The European Union has opened a formal investigation into TikTok following allegations of foreign interference in Romania's recent presidential election. The second-round vote was canceled after intelligence revealed 25,000 TikTok accounts were activated weeks before the first round, supporting far-right candidate Calin Georgescu. Despite denying ties to Russia, Georgescu praised Vladimir Putin and opposed aid to Ukraine. EU regulators are assessing whether TikTok’s content recommendation systems and advertising policies violated the Digital Services Act (DSA), which seeks to curb disinformation and illegal online activities. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen emphasized the need to protect democracies, stating, "Online platforms, including TikTok, must be held accountable". Romanian authorities flagged unmarked election content promoting Georgescu, with one account spending $381,000 despite TikTok's ban on paid political ads. TikTok claimed it acted promptly to address flagged videos and denied favoritism. The investigation will examine TikTok’s algorithm for potential exploitation and evaluate its compliance with EU election laws. This inquiry coincides with another probe into TikTok's handling of harmful content and child safety under the DSA. The EU has prioritized the case, demanding TikTok preserve internal documents related to election content through March 2025.
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The Supreme Court will hear arguments next month over the constitutionality of the federal law that could ban TikTok in the U.S. if its Chinese parent company doesn't sell it.
