Romania Asks EU to Investigate Chinese TikTok's Influence on Presidential Election, EU Parliament Summons Social Network CEO

Romanian authorities have identified violations during the election campaign on Chinese social media platform TikTok, so the national media regulator Ancom informed the European Commission on Tuesday that TikTok had not responded to requests to ensure election security. This was reported by Politico.

European Commission spokesperson Thomas Regnier confirmed that his body had received a request for an ‘official investigation into TikTok's role in the Romanian elections’.

‘We are closely following the developments,’ Regnier said, adding that the EU “could open proceedings” if it has “evidence”.

Calin Georgescu, an 'independent' candidate who unexpectedly won first place in the first round of Romania's presidential election, is one of the most vocal propagandists of anti-Western ideas in Romania. It is believed that his popularity, which was not recorded by sociologists, was ensured by his TikTok campaign.

Experts are now investigating how Georgescu, who has more than 37,000 followers on his TikTok account, managed to rise so sharply in the rankings.

‘We believe that Tiktok was misused, and the abuse was caused by him and the army of fake accounts that were used for his purposes,’ said Bogdan Manolea, executive director of the Romanian campaign group Association for Technology and the Internet.

On Tuesday, one of the EU's leading lawmakers demanded that TikTok's CEO appear in the European Parliament and answer questions, while Romanian NGOs called on the Commission to check whether TikTok and other platforms are complying with European social media laws.

‘We call on TikTok's CEO to appear before this Parliament and ensure that his platform does not violate the EU's Digital Services Act (DSA),’ Valerie Aye, head of the European Parliament's liberal political group Renewal Europe, said at a press conference on Thursday.

According to Politico, this case puts the European Commission in a difficult position, as an investigation into TikTok's role in the vote could be seen as interference in national elections. 

‘The Commission does not interfere in national elections and seeks to ensure, within its competence, a level playing field for all candidates,’ Regnier said.

Romanian President Klaus Iohannis also convened a meeting of the Supreme National Defence Council, the country's highest security body, to discuss the threat of interference in the electoral process.

‘The agenda of the Council's meeting includes an analysis of possible risks to national security caused by the actions of state and non-state cyber actors at some IT infrastructure facilities, and support for the electoral process,’ a brief statement said.

The CSAT was convened amid suspicions of presidential election fraud in Romania, as well as the role of TikTok in the victory of independent candidate Calin Georgescu - known for his controversial views - in the first round.

On the evening of 26 November, young people protested in Romanian cities against the candidacy of the pro-Russian Georgescu.

On 8 December, Romania will hold a second round of the presidential election.