Video sharing app TikTok has made internal changes in a bid to protect the May Romanian presidential election from foreign interference after the European Commission opened a probe into the platform last December, EU Tech Commissioner Henna Virkkunen told lawmakers of the European Parliament’s Internal Market and Consumer Protection committee (IMCO) on Monday.
“Regarding the upcoming election in Romania in May, we welcome the changes TikTok has made. This includes better detection and labelling of political accounts and more Romanian language experts, and an additional 120 experts to the Romanian election task force working especially on covert influence campaigns and advertising integrity,” Virkkunen said.
The first round of the Romanian election last November was invalidated on the basis of intelligence reports which allegedly showed Russian involvement in voter influence through social media to support the then-relatively unknown nationalist candidate Călin Georgescu.
Because of Georgescu’s popularity on TikTok, the Commission in December began a probe into the role of the platform during the campaign to check whether it breached the DSA in relation to risk assessment and election integrity.
The outcome of the case is still pending.
Earlier this month Romanian authorities banned Georgescu from running due to his failure to comply with the rules during the previous election.
Online platforms TikTok, Meta, Google and X were invited to take part in an election stress test in March, organised by the Romanian communications regulator Ancom.
The exercise tested the capacity of those involved in the electoral process to address potential online challenges that may arise during the election period, Ancom told Euronews.
Probes
Virkkunen, who said the TikTok case is an example where the DSA works to improve platform’s actions, was also asked by lawmakers about the pending penalties for tech platforms for possible breaches of the DSA, as well as the Digital Markets Act (DMA).
Under both rules, the EU executive has opened a number of proceedings for possible breaches. None of them have been wrapped up yet.
Regarding the DMA, where fines for Apple and Meta could come this week, Virkkunen said that there should not be “too big delays” when it comes to enforcing the rules.
In response to criticism on EU tech rules, including the DSA, DMA and AI Act, voiced by the US government led by Republican President Donald Trump, Virkkunen said that the rules are “fair for everyone” and that Europe is “committed to the rules”.
